The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that an Argentine bill to protect glaciers by banning mines from ice zones could hinder a new multibillion-dollar gold mine, shutting some projects and slow investment. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says, however, that some mining provinces seeking to circumvent the measure are passing their own laws. The Senate is weighing the politically popular bill, backed by the opposition, after the lower house of Congress passed it last week. Proponents say it is crucial to ensuring Argentina's water supplies into the future. President Cristina Fernandez has said she would sign the bill, even though she vetoed a similar law two years ago, citing economic grounds. The proposed law could make it more expensive -- or even impossible -- for Barrick Gold to develop Pascua Lama, one of the world's last known big gold finds being built along the mountainous Argentina-Chile border. Barrick says it has already committed over 25 per cent of the capital for Pascua Lama, with the project's preproduction capital budget estimated at $2.8-billion (U.S.) to $3-billion (U.S.). The bill also bans oil drilling on the country's glaciers.