The call against the San Jorge mining project in Mendoza was scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 2, but long before that, the intersection of San Martín and the Sarmiento pedestrian street was crowded. The gathering brought together thousands of people with signs and flags in defense of water.
The mobilization showed strong participation from youth, workers, and students. The massive presence once again highlighted the lack of social license for high-impact extractive ventures.
After the initial noise protest, the column moved through downtown Mendoza towards the provincial Legislature. More demonstrators joined at each block, responding with applause and improvised siren sounds.
Recent memory and ongoing tensions
References to 2019 are repeated among participants. The popular revocation of the reform that relaxed water protection remains a turning point in the environmental history of the province.
The climate of distrust deepens in the face of the official attempt to accelerate the vote on the Environmental Impact Statement. The treatment in the Senate could take place next week, even though technical and social objections to the project persist.
The provincial government maintains its legislative agenda despite the growing mobilization. However, the citizen response over the weekend showed that environmental conflict remains present in almost all departments.
Territorial organization and continuity of the claim
The socio-environmental assemblies anticipate a week of actions in defense of water. In parallel, a caravan is being prepared to depart from Uspallata and travel through different departments to converge in the provincial capital.
The organizers understand the protest as a defense of the current territorial planning and the restrictive regulations regarding polluting mining activity, so the massiveness of the day reinforces that message.
The projection of new mobilizations coincides with the parliamentary progress of the file. The organized citizenry seeks to intervene before the project reaches its final legislative definition.
The extraction method proposed by the San Jorge project
The San Jorge venture is based on an open-pit exploitation model aimed at the extraction of copper and gold. This type of operation requires large volumes of rock movement and the intensive use of chemical reagents to separate the minerals of interest.
The process involves the use of leaching and crushing and grinding systems, which implies the generation of tailings and debris with potential for leakage into water basins. The management of these wastes is one of the most questioned points by specialists.
The associated environmental consequences include soil modification, alteration of watercourses, high water consumption, and the risk of dispersal of toxic substances. These factors explain the social concern and the insistence on rigorously evaluating the cumulative impact of the activity.
What are its consequences and risks for the provincial environment?
The main concern of environmental organizations is the pressure that this type of project exerts on water systems. The Mendoza mountain range is a key area for drinking water supply and irrigation, and it presents vulnerabilities to large-scale extractive activities.
The potential increase in sediments and the possible chemical alteration of the water represent risks to biodiversity and agricultural production, the backbone of the regional economy. The compatibility between open-pit mining and conservation remains a subject of debate in the scientific community.
The legislative discussion takes place at a time when the province continues to face scenarios of drought and reduced flow rates. These antecedents deepen the rejection of broad social sectors to the mining project.
The impact on water, health, and the environment
Open-pit mining demands large volumes of fresh water for its processes. In a semi-desert province like Mendoza, this consumption pressures an already scarce resource. Any reduction in availability affects agricultural irrigation and urban supply.
The alteration of aquifers and surface courses can generate acid drainage. This phenomenon releases heavy metals such as arsenic and cadmium into the water system. Once contaminated, water bodies take decades to recover.
Prolonged exposure to heavy metals has proven effects on health. It can cause neurological disorders, respiratory problems, and kidney ailments. Populations near exploitation zones are the most vulnerable.
The environment also suffers significant losses. Mountain ecosystems, fragile and slow to regenerate, are especially affected. The fragmentation of habitat alters biodiversity and compromises native species.
