North Macedonia, citizens oppose the opening of mines, 27 December 2022

Since 2017, civil society organisations from the south-eastern part of North Macedonia have been trying to prove that opening copper and gold mines in their region will harm the environment. The region of Strumica, Bosilovo, and Novo Selo is recognised in the country for its fertile soil and quality agricultural products such as peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco, and corn as well as livestock breeding and as a source of food for the entire country. Hence, citizens oppose the opening of the mine which will mean severe pollution of the soil, air, and water, and thus of life in this area in general.

The revolt of the citizens is so wide that several environmental associations were formed, such as Zdrava Kotlina from Strumica, Eco Dolina from Novo Selo, and the civil initiative "Save the Strumica Kotlina – stop the mine of death" from Strumica...

“Our resistance is from 2017. We started publishing documents that we received from Canada, because there the company was transparent, but here it was not. They tried to talk on televised debates but they didn't know how much we know and how well we prepared because we analysed the elements well. We pointed out many negative consequences and damage to the environment and the unprofitability of investing in mines”, Gjorgi Tanushev, representative of the environmental organisation Zdrava Kotlina, told OBCT.

The purification of ores with water will cause groundwater pollution and a dam will be built where the tailings will be stored (the materials that remain after the process of separating the valuable ore fraction). The artificial lake which irrigates the field and provides drinking water to the surrounding villages will be polluted. The lake is approximately halfway from the mine to the villages...