Top Copper Nation Says It Can Save Glaciers Without Nixing Mines

摘要

Chile’s government seeks to strike a balance between protecting glaciers and appeasing investors in the top copper producer -- even as the political opposition pushes a law that could constrain mining in such environmentally fragile areas. “We are in favor of protecting the environment including water reserves and glaciers, but we have to do it correctly,” Chile’s Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt told the Pauta Bloomberg radio show on Thursday. “We have many scientists and data that show us glacial protection can be done correctly.” The government of the South American nation and the mining industry say that huge copper deposits high up in the Andes Mountains can be tapped without destroying the glaciers that provide water for millions of people. Those glaciers are already receding thanks to global warming. Chile is grappling with challenges governments worldwide face with growing pressure to curb environmental impacts while trying to generate revenue to prop up the economy amid a pandemic.