The Mendoza Legislature granted preliminary approval to the San Jorge–PSJ Cobre Mendocino project, marking a new chapter in the discussion about mining development in the province.
The decision came in a context of social mobilizations demanding more information and environmental guarantees before enabling any venture. Environmental organizations, such as Greenpeace, point out that the legislative process does not reflect the position of sectors of the citizenry who consider the available studies insufficient.
The province has been facing a persistent drought for over a decade, which affects both surface flows and underground reserves. This scenario, specialists warn, makes it essential to rigorously evaluate any activity in the high mountains, the source of the water that sustains the region.
The lack of social consensus and concern over the water impact intensified the debate about the legitimacy of the process.
A territory conditioned by the water crisis
Mendoza depends almost exclusively on the contribution of snow, glaciers, and the periglacial environment. These systems store ice on the surface and in depth, ensuring flow even in the driest months.
The accelerated retreat of these sources increases uncertainty about the future availability of the resource. In this context, recent technical reports —including one prepared by the local CONICET— pointed out gaps and uncertainties in the water information associated with the project.
Despite this, the Environmental Impact Declaration was granted, which raised questions about compliance with the precautionary principle. The communities of Uspallata, one of the most affected areas, express their concern about a system they consider fragile and essential for daily life.
The legal debate and the principle of social license
The Argentine environmental regulations establish real participation, access to adequate information, and preventive risk assessment. Both the General Environmental Law and the Escazú Agreement require ensuring that communities can intervene in a timely manner in decisions affecting their environment.
For socio-environmental organizations, these requirements were not fully met during the process. The social license thus became the center of the discussion.
Although it is not an administrative instrument, it is recognized as a legal and political factor that conditions the development of high-impact projects. The sustained rejection in various sectors of Mendoza society reveals a fracture between institutional decisions and the perception of the territory.
A mountain system under pressure
The high Mendoza mountains concentrate critical water reserves, including uncovered glaciers, debris glaciers, and permafrost areas. These elements play a strategic role in the provincial water balance.
Any intervention in these areas, specialists warn, can alter the future availability of an already limited resource. The debate is intensified by the push in the national Congress for amendments to the Glacier Law.
The changes would allow activities in currently protected areas, reducing the scope of the current regulations. For an arid province, scientific organizations warn, weakening that protection implies exposing the population to structural water risks.
The case of San Jorge is framed in this broader discussion about the development model. The need to diversify the economy coexists with the urgency to protect water, a resource considered a environmental and social limit. The tension between both perspectives crosses the future of the territory and conditions any long-term decision.
The San Jorge–PSJ Cobre Mendocino project
The San Jorge venture is a copper mining project located in the Uspallata area, in northwest Mendoza. Its planning foresees operations near areas of high ecological sensitivity and high water importance.
The initiative has gone through discontinuous evaluation stages for over a decade, as it seeks to extract and process copper using conventional metal mining techniques.
Among the most questioned points are the water consumption, the risks associated with soil movements, and the management of mining waste. Local communities emphasize the need for complete information on these aspects before moving forward.
The preliminary approval obtained in the Legislature paves the way for a final approval. However, the social, technical, and environmental objections keep the project under intense scrutiny. For various sectors, the challenge is to ensure that any decision is made with transparency and ecosystem protection criteria.
Water, environment, and rights: a joint challenge
The debate around the San Jorge project exposes the limits of a territory conditioned by climate and water availability. The water crisis forces a rethinking of environmental assessment criteria, especially in high mountain areas.
The citizen demand for greater participation reflects a profound change in the relationship between communities and public policies. As the parliamentary discussion progresses, the call to strengthen the control instances and access to information grows.
The sustainability of any project in Mendoza will depend on both the technical solidity and the social consensus it manages to build. Without these elements, specialists warn, no venture can be considered viable in the long term.
