Since Magna was authorised to carry out surveys in Erdiz in 2001, the project has undergone many tours. Throughout this time more than 80% of the baztans have demonstrated against the project, including in the street. Numerous mass demonstrations have taken place in Elizondo, and on this occasion Erdi Bizirik wishes to bring the protest to the head of the city. Also in 2008 a massive demonstration was held in Elizondo, with about 2,000 people, and last November others met on the street rejecting the slimming project.

In March the platform was presented in the Parliament of Navarre and the Government of Navarre was asked to desist from it. Navarra Suma, PSN and Geroa, who supported the mining project, gave it a clear refusal, prioritizing the jobs that will be created in it. The three political forces consider that the mining project is compatible with livestock grazing in Erdiz, and consider that animals cannot be grazed in the mining areas, but in the rest it is. The platform considers that this is neither practical nor ecological.

The project has been dancing since the beginning of the century and in 2008 Magna abandoned it to open a new mine in Zilbeti (Valle de Erro). But it failed and in 2019 presented its new proposal for exploitation in Erdiz, and on 7 October the Parliament of Navarra approved the project as Investment of Foral Interest, with the favorable votes of UPN, PSN and Geroa Bai (40 votes), and the votes against EH Bildu, Ahal Dugu e In-Ezkerra (10 votes).

The angry baztans

The site called Erdiz or Erdizaga is located within the massif of the Erregerena, on the border of the valleys of Baztán and Steribar. It is declared a Special Conservation Area within the Natura 2000 Network promoted by the European Union. In addition to its obvious ecological value, the area has a rich cultural heritage in which at least Baztan animals are grazed since the Middle Ages.

The Assembly of Municipalities represented by Baztan has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the Magna project. The mayors also wanted to conduct a popular consultation last autumn, but it was banned by the Navarra delegation of the Spanish Government. The Baztans have become angry and said so at the March Parliament hearing of parliamentarians Erdiz Bizirike spokesman Jon Elizetxe: “Why was the Foral Participation Act passed? How do you want to believe in institutions if you override us and leave us?”

Baztans fear for the damage that grasslands and sites may suffer, and that is what he indicated in his report on the topic: “Therefore, the project of the Erdiz quarry would not occupy a ‘natural’ empty space. Its landscape, besides a rich ecological environment, is an heir to a tangible and intangible cultural heritage that once destroyed would be impossible to restore.”