Hundreds of signatures against a project for exploration and gold mining gathered residents of the city of Svoge and the villages of Zelen, Bov, Lakatnik and nearby settlements. They will be affected by the 2021 Council of Ministers Permit for drilling for gold mining in the land of the villages of Bov and Lakatnik. On the basis of this Permit, the company “BULGARIA ALFA“ EAD, a subsidiary of the Canadian MUNDORO CAPITAL Inc., carries out geological exploration works in an area in the area, which has the working name “EE-1“.
This is what iskra.bg says.
The collection of signatures in support of the Objection against dozens of drillings and possible gold mining will continue in the coming days, in front of the Community Center “Gradishte” in the city of Svoge. The people are ready for civil action, a legal signature to the mayor of Svoge and the responsible institutions have already created an initiative committee with the aim of stopping the project.
Citizens are against the activity and potential gold mining in the area, as the cleanliness of the air, water and soil in the area is directly threatened. Endangered and in immediate danger are the numerous springs that alone and without alternative provide water for drinking, domestic and agricultural needs of thousands of residents of the depopulating Svoge Municipality. The gold mining project will affect and destroy natural, cultural, historical, archaeological and tourist sites, including the Kom-Emine route.
Activists against prospecting and gold mining in the area are organizing to send as many objections as possible to the Ministry of Environment and Water, but also preparing substantiated objections against the lack of competence in the MoEW, to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Energy, the Ombudsman, Bassenova Directorate, Council of Ministers, President. People are ready to turn to the relevant European institutions as well and hope not to have to use civil disobedience.
In their Objection, the residents of Svoge and nearby settlements point out that in the affected karst area of the search area, it is expected to encounter uranium, for whose deposits the area is known. Thus, the underground water bodies are put at risk, and therefore the health of the people living in the area.
„In the Report on the assessment of the degree of impact on protected areas of the overall work project for gold mining in EE-1, measures to overcome pollution and water loss are not presented. There is also a lack of information on the possible consequences on the water supply of local communities and agricultural activities that rely on these water resources.“
“We insist on complete and detailed data on water sources, as well as a hydrogeological report for the entire area”, the Objection to the Institutions emphasizes.
Citizens are concerned that the boreholes will be meters from their homes, some less than 50 meters from houses in the area.
From the text of the Objection it is also clear that the direct impact of the used technique on air quality has not been considered. In addition, there is a lack of assessment of the risk of landslides. As we already know from school: the territory of the municipality of Svoge is home to the largest landslide on the Balkan Peninsula.
Consultations with all interested parties, including local communities, non-governmental organizations, businesses, regarding the negative socio-economic consequences have not been carried out, the text to the institutions also states.