1.9 C
Belgrade
Supported byspot_img
spot_img

Blow for Nevsun in Macedonia as local residents vote no to gold digging

Member of Europium Groupspot_img
Supported byspot_img

Citizens of the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija resoundingly voted ‘no’ in a referendum on whether to open two gold mines in the area.

Reservoir Minerals, a company that was purchased in 2016 by Canada-based miner Nevsun Resources had planned to open the mines on Mount Kozuf after gold deposits were found northwest of Gevgelija.

Around 13,300 voters, or 68% of the local population, cast their votes in the referendum held on April 23, and оver 97% voted against the mine project, local media reported.

Supported by

“The turnout was big enough to make the referendum valid,” news agency MIA reported, citing the head of the municipal election commission, Mitko Dojcinov.

The vote followed an aggressive campaign by local environmental groups, which said the authorities should not issue a licence for opening the mines because mining would pollute the area near the Greek border. They argued that the gold ore would be extracted with explosives that would ruin the mountain and the use of cyanide for separating the gold would have disastrous pollution effects in the area, which is mainly used for agriculture as well as for tourism.

The outcome means that the Gevgelija municipality will not issue any licenses for prospective gold mining operators to open mines.

The referendum was organised by the civil organisation “Spas za nas” (Salvation for Us). The municipal authorities in Gevgelija are understood to have been against the mines, even though mayor Ivan Frangov is a member of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE, whose government issued the exploration concession.

Nevsun’s website says it has significant exploration areas licensed in Macedonia, where it has two mineral exploration concessions and two prospecting concessions, all of which are early stage exploration projects. Currently the company’s main assets are the Bisha copper-zinc mine in Eritrea and the Timok copper-gold project in Serbia.

The company previously ran into controversy in Eritrea, where Human Rights Watch said in 2013 that it had “failed to conduct human rights due diligence activity and had only limited human rights safeguards in place” resulting in forced labour by conscripts at Bisha. The following year, three former workers sued the company for complicity in torture, forced labour, slavery, and crimes against humanity. Nevsun said in 2016 that it is confident Bisha is operated in line with international standards of governance, workplace conditions, health, safety and human rights.

Source: intellinews

Supported byElevatePR Digital

Related News

Important Announcement to Our Readers

After years of dedicated efforts to promote the European mining industry and foster a balanced approach between environmental conservation and the responsible exploitation of...

India set to decide on import restrictions for metallurgical coke

India is set to make a decision soon on whether to implement import restrictions on metallurgical coke, a crucial ingredient in steelmaking. According to...

AMMC targets major production milestones by 2030 with ongoing development projects

Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine (AMMC) has set ambitious production goals for 2030, aiming to achieve annual output of 500,000 tons of copper, 50...

Kazatomprom partners with Jordan uranium mining company on joint uranium exploration and extraction

Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan's national atomic company, has entered into a collaboration with Jordan Uranium Mining Company (JUMCO) to jointly explore and extract uranium in Jordan....
Supported by
Supported by
Supported by
error: Content is protected !!