- The Government of Navarre was surprised at the kick that the mining project Muga de Sangüesa has given from the judicial area. This has been acknowledged by the Ecological Transition Counsellor, Mikel Irujo, at the end of his speech. He said that the Spanish Mining Act should be amended and did not clarify whether the judgment of the Superior Court of Justice of Navarra is to be appealed.
The Muga project is the largest mining project in Euskal Herria and the Spanish State to exploit the potash that is to be carried out in Sangüesa and other localities of Aragon. The suspension of the operating permit of the Foral Community by the Superior Court of Justice of Navarre is therefore not barbaric.
Irujo has not clarified whether the judgment will be appealed, although he said that "it is being analysed in detail".
On Wednesday, the Green Transition Counsellor of the Government of Navarra, Mikel Irujo, made a first assessment at the press conference after the Governing Council and defended the management of the project. However, he has admitted that three permits have been granted for a project and that the Spanish Mining Act can prevent something from being done according to interpretations, as the court has said.
But then he attacked that 1973 "pre-constitutional" law, and he said "it needs to be changed." It has also defended the competence of the Foral Community of Navarra in the field of mines. Irujo, for his part, has not wanted to reveal whether the sentence will be appealed, although he has said that he is "studying in detail" and has not revealed the facts.
Sangüesa City Hall "knew nothing"
The judgment of the Court of Justice of the National Court has given rise to further reactions. The City Hall of Sangüesa published a note stating that it did not know "the existence of problems that could jeopardize the granting of the donation".
He explained that the City Council "has nothing to do with" the efforts and procedures carried out so far and that it will ask to meet with the representatives of the Government of Navarra. In any case, the municipal government of Sangüesa (in the hands of UPN) has reiterated that it will try to bring forward a project that, in its opinion, is "strategic" with the government and the sponsoring company.
In Sangüesa, twelve plots of the Public Utility Mountains will be used for the construction of the mine and 20 plots or private land will be expropriated at the request of the City Hall.
50 kilometres of galleries buried
The Muga mine is promoted by the company Geoalcali and behind it is the multinational Highfield Resources, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. About a month ago, an agreement was signed with several Chinese multinationals to finance the project.
Geoalcali estimates that the project requires an investment of over EUR 600 million. For 30 years, they want to extract a million tons of pozas a year and to do so they want to build ramps of 3 kilometers, from 350 meters depth, to open galleries of 50 kilometers in length through Sangüesa and Bald'Onsella, in Aragon.
Geoalcali wants to extract from the earth for 30 years a million tons of potash a year, for which it will build ramps of 3 kilometers, from 350 meters depth, to expand the galleries of 50 kilometers in length
Urban platforms and environmental groups have denounced that the mine would increase seismicity in the lands near the Yesa reservoir, would cause landslides and would have to endure the daily transport of 500 trucks in the villages of the area, with the consequent pollution.
In total, the mine would generate about four million tonnes of waste a year, which could be accumulated on the communal grounds of Sangüesa forming a large hill of millions of cubic metres. Massive water use is also envisaged, so the project will need annually a volume of water equivalent to that spent by 165,000 people to extract the potash.