Push to restart uranium mining in Patagonia has sparked fears about the environmental impact and loss of sovereignty over key resources Push to restart uranium mining in Patagonia has sparked fears about the environmental impact and loss of sovereignty over key resources O n an outcrop above the Chubut River, one of the few to cut across the arid Patagonian steppe of southern Argentina , Sergio Pichiñán points across a wide swath of scrubland to colourful rock formations on a distant hillside. “