Drilling for gold in the villages of Bov and Lakatnik raised degrees of tension in the area among the local people, BNT reported.
There are concerns that gold mining in the area would damage nature, tourism and especially water sources. And besides, people are afraid that mines may be built. What permits have been issued, will drilling begin and can mining of precious metals begin in the area?
Resentment against planned drilling in the Lakatnik area is growing, and local people complain of a lack of information.
The biggest concern is related to the pollution of water sources. People say that there was serious exploration for copper ore here in the 1950s.
"The older people know that at this very moment some of the water sources that were here have disappeared and others have decreased," explained Georgi - a resident of Lakatnik.
"We have the potential drilling points presented by the investor company. A large part are located near these water sources. The appropriate distances were not respected", emphasized Ekaterina Petrova - association "You decide for yourself".
According to the data from a report on the assessment of the degree of impact on protected areas, which the locals refer to, the overall project for the exploration activities is for a period of 3 years. The area is on the territory of the municipalities of Svoge, Botevgrad, Mezdra, as well as Sofia region and Vratsa. The borders include parts of five protected areas from the "Natura 2000" network. It is recorded in the document that 8 wells are planned only in the “Iskar Gorge - Rzhana“, with the announced depth being 1,900 meters.
"In response to BNT's inquiry, the Ministry of Energy stated that the search and exploration permit was granted in strict compliance with the procedures and requirements of the Law on Underground Resources and does not pose any risks to the environment. The branch of the Canadian company in Bulgaria stated that the maximum number of planned drillings is eight, compared to 57 proposed in the overall work project. A large number of alternative locations have been considered because the owners of the specific properties may not agree to drilling. It is not yet clear when field work will begin."
"All this happens after there is a regulated relationship with the owners. The owners can be private individuals, it can be the municipality, it can be forestry. There are more procedures to come", said Damyan Hristov - "Bulgaria Alpha".
According to the procedures - before drilling, the company commissions an independent laboratory to take samples from all water sources in the drilling area before and after the end of the work process in order to compare the results for contamination.
"We don't even come close to the sanitary and security zones. There are water sources without such established zones, in which case the Basin Directorate requires a 1-kilometer buffer between a potential drilling location and the water source. This has also been observed", noted Damyan Hristov.
The company specifies that they are not engaged in mining, but only in exploration. And if they find a deposit, it does not mean that a mine will be built on the site, as this requires other procedures.