{"id":6249,"date":"2021-01-13T19:46:29","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T22:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/the-main-cause-of-the-deterioration-of-glaciers-mining-activity\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T20:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T23:09:22","slug":"the-main-cause-of-the-deterioration-of-glaciers-mining-activity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/en\/the-main-cause-of-the-deterioration-of-glaciers-mining-activity\/","title":{"rendered":"MAIN CAUSE OF DETERIORATION OF GLACIERS: MINING ACTIVITY."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Sara Larra\u00edn<\/strong>, Chile Sustentable Program<\/p>\n\n<p>Chile is a mountainous country where 70% of the population relies on water from the mountain ranges, which are primarily fed by snow and glaciers that ensure a supply of drinking water for the population, the preservation of ecosystems, and the continuity of economic activities, particularly agriculture.<\/p>\n\n<p>Glaciers around the world are currently retreating due to global warming. Additionally, in Chile, glaciers are being directly impacted by mining (Berland 2016) through the construction of roads across them\u2014which generates dust that settles on the glaciers and accelerates their melting\u2014 drilling, and the massive removal of ice with heavy machinery during mining operations, burying the glaciers under waste rock dumps (Contreras and Illanes, Brenning 2008; Chile Sustentable, 2011; Bodin, 2018). The situation is particularly critical in the northern and central regions of the country.  <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-HIELOS-Y-PARQUES-NACIONALES-PORTADA-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"COVERAGE OF NATIONAL ICE PARKS AND NATIONAL PARKS\" class=\"wp-image-5235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-HIELOS-Y-PARQUES-NACIONALES-PORTADA-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-HIELOS-Y-PARQUES-NACIONALES-PORTADA-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-HIELOS-Y-PARQUES-NACIONALES-PORTADA-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-HIELOS-Y-PARQUES-NACIONALES-PORTADA-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-HIELOS-Y-PARQUES-NACIONALES-PORTADA-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<p>In recent decades, mining has encroached on glaciers between the Atacama and Metropolitan Regions, causing the loss of enormous freshwater reserves and contaminating water sources, which has affected human consumption, agriculture, and ecosystems. This destruction has exacerbated desertification, making cities, agriculture, and ecosystems more vulnerable in a context of increasing water scarcity due to climate change. <\/p>\n\n<p>The best-known case of glacier destruction is that of Pascua Lama, a gold mining project by Barrick Gold, which, during its exploration activities between 1981 and 2000, irreversibly destroyed 62% of the Toro 1 Glacier, and 71% of the Toro 2 Glacier in the upper Huasco River basin (Golder Associates, 2005a). The environmental permit granted to Barrick Gold in 2005 allowed the company to mine gold via underground operations beneath the glacier area and also to deposit waste material on the largest rock glacier at the headwaters of the El Estrecho River, in the Huasco basin (Golder Associates 2005b). Following repeated penalties, the mining company\u2019s operations were shut down in 2013. Subsequently, in 2017, the Superintendency of the Environment revoked its Environmental Qualification Resolution.   <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-EXPERIENCE-PORTADA-TREK-Y-VOLCAN-1-6-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-EXPERIENCE-PORTADA-TREK-Y-VOLCAN-1-6-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-EXPERIENCE-PORTADA-TREK-Y-VOLCAN-1-6-450x800.jpg 450w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-EXPERIENCE-PORTADA-TREK-Y-VOLCAN-1-6-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-EXPERIENCE-PORTADA-TREK-Y-VOLCAN-1-6-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/TOLHUIN-EXPEDITIONS-PATAGONIA-ADVENTURES-EXPERIENCE-PORTADA-TREK-Y-VOLCAN-1-6.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<p>In the Coquimbo region, Minera Los Pelambres, a subsidiary of Antofagasta Minerals, has been conducting mining operations in the upper Choapa River basin since 2005, causing serious impacts on rock glaciers and water resources. In this basin, scientists identified 15 rock glaciers at elevations between 3,500 and 3,900 m. snm (mostly active rock glaciers), of which four have almost completely disappeared due to the deposition of ballast on them, and two others were affected by road construction (Brenning and Az\u00f3car, 2010). These activities involving the removal and deposition of materials were not included in the environmental studies submitted to the authorities, even though the existence of these glaciers had been known since 1998 (Geoestudios, 1998). The Pelambres project\u2019s activities between 2000 and 2006 affected permanent reservoirs of fossilized water equivalent to 2.84 million cubic meters of freshwater\u2014a loss not anticipated in the environmental assessment process for the mining project (Az\u00f3car and Brenning 2008).    <\/p>\n\n<p>In the Valpara\u00edso region, Codelco Andina has been impacting rock glaciers since 1980 in the upper Aconcagua River basin, causing two rock glaciers (identified by Lliboutry in 1961) to disappear almost completely, with a total area of 1.32 km\u00b2. Codelco has also altered 0.78 km\u00b2 of rock glaciers with tailings deposits and mining infrastructure (Brenning, 2008). The most affected glaciers are the Rinconada and the R\u00edo Blanco, whose tongues are located within the mine pit. Studies of the area show that between 1991 and 2000, Codelco removed between 1 and 8 million metric tons of ice per year (Morales, 2001) and estimate that the company will continue to destroy glaciers at similar rates in the future, in addition to depositing millions of metric tons of tailings on the glaciers in the Sur-Sur Mine\u2019s operating area. It is estimated that between 1990 and 2008, Codelco destroyed 2.1 km\u00b2 of glaciers in the upper Aconcagua River basin, which is equivalent to the loss of between 15 and 25 million m\u00b3 of freshwater reserves in that basin (Brenning, 2008), reducing glacial recharge and water security in the Aconcagua and Valpara\u00edso regions.    <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"http:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/TOLHUIN-PATAGONIA-2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/TOLHUIN-PATAGONIA-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/TOLHUIN-PATAGONIA-2-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/TOLHUIN-PATAGONIA-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/TOLHUIN-PATAGONIA-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/TOLHUIN-PATAGONIA-2-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<p>In 2010, Codelco submitted the \u201cAndina 244 Expansion Project\u201d to the SEIA, reporting that 100 hectares of glaciers would be affected (Official Letter No. 111747 &#8211; 2010 MMA), which was unacceptable, as it would have reduced significant water reserves in the Aconcagua River basin, exacerbated conflicts with irrigators, and increased the Valpara\u00edso region\u2019s water vulnerability to droughts and climate change. For this reason, the project was withdrawn from the SEIA, resubmitted in 2013, and withdrawn again due to public opposition, as the authority noted that the expansion would impact 20 glaciers, affecting 560,900 m\u00b2 through excavation and 1,015.400 m\u00b2 through burial under waste rock, projecting an ice loss equivalent to a reserve of 12,599,000 m\u00b3 of freshwater (SEA, 2015). Despite resubmitting the proposal for evaluation in 2017, the company has not yet obtained the environmental permit, although local stakeholders claim that the expansion has already begun.<\/p>\n\n<p>In the Metropolitan Region, Anglo American operates the Los Bronces Mine in the upper basin of the Mapocho and Olivares rivers, the latter being a tributary of the Maipo River, which supplies Santiago\u2019s drinking water and irrigates 120,000 hectares in the Maipo Valley (Chile Sustentable, 2010). Between 1988 and 2005, Anglo American destroyed nearly 1 square kilometer of glaciers in the upper San Francisco River basin, which feeds the Mapocho, resulting in the loss of 9 million cubic meters of freshwater reserves (Azocar and Brenning, 2008). Anglo\u2019s impact on rock glaciers is well documented, particularly on the Infernillo Glacier (Contreras and Illanes, 1992; Valenzuela, 2004; Brenning, 2008), which has accelerated the glacier\u2019s natural advance due to the 14 million metric tons of debris deposited by the mining company on its surface (Brenning, 2010). In the San Francisco, Dolores, and El Plomo river basins, there are 37 rock glaciers (Geoestudios, 2006), which cover an area of 5 km\u00b2 across the three basins. However, the expansion of the mine pit has occupied 0.2 km\u00b2, and, together with the excavation of the rock glacier for the pit, has reduced the amount of water that the San Francisco River basin contributes to the Mapocho River. In 2011, Anglo American continued the expansion of Los Bronces by constructing (without an Environmental Impact Assessment), a 9-kilometer-long, 4.5-meter-diameter mega-tunnel under the La Paloma glacier, in the municipality of Barnechea, extending to the Olivares glacier in San Jos\u00e9 de Maipo. The project, which was denounced by civic organizations, the Municipality of Barnechea, and members of Congress (La Segunda, Dec. 2011), was never subject to an environmental assessment. In August 2019, Anglo American submitted a proposal to the SEIA for a new expansion of Los Bronces, this time involving underground mining; In response, and in the absence of a law to protect glaciers, citizens once again began working to prevent the destruction of glaciers through the only\u2014and limited\u2014avenue available to them: submitting comments on the environmental impact study.       <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>(<\/strong>from *State of the Environment in Chile 2019*, University of Chile)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sara Larra\u00edn, Chile Sustentable Program Chile is a mountainous country where 70% of the population relies on water from the mountain ranges, which are primarily fed by snow and glaciers that ensure a supply of drinking water for the population, the preservation of ecosystems, and the continuity of economic activities, particularly agriculture. Glaciers around the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"ocean_front_end_style_editor":"no","ocean_post_layout":"full-screen","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"tags":[],"experiencias_destinos":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>MAIN CAUSE OF DETERIORATION OF GLACIERS: MINING ACTIVITY. - Tolhuin Expeditions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tolhuinexpeditions.com\/en\/the-main-cause-of-the-deterioration-of-glaciers-mining-activity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MAIN CAUSE OF DETERIORATION OF GLACIERS: MINING ACTIVITY. - Tolhuin Expeditions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sara Larra\u00edn, Chile Sustentable Program Chile is a mountainous country where 70% of the population relies on water from the mountain ranges, which are primarily fed by snow and glaciers that ensure a supply of drinking water for the population, the preservation of ecosystems, and the continuity of economic activities, particularly agriculture. 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