Stop the Rozino Mine – Protect the Byala Reka and the Eastern Rhodopes!

• The project is large in scale and long in duration. It would involve open-pit mining, drilling and blasting, flotation processing, mining waste facilities, and related infrastructure over a period of 35 years, across a planned concession area of 275.34 hectares, of which 117.9 hectares would be directly disturbed.
• The project is located in an ecologically sensitive area. The site is connected to the Byala Reka River and its tributaries, including Arpa Dere and Kokardzha Dere, making it highly sensitive in terms of water resources, erosion, and landscape connectivity.
• The project falls within two Natura 2000 protected sites — BG0001032 “Rodopi–Iztochni” and BG0002019 “Byala Reka” — and affects an area of high conservation value. According to the project documentation, it directly threatens the only two breeding pairs of the globally endangered Egyptian vulture by destroying their nesting habitat. This would directly undermine the conservation objectives of the Byala Reka protected site, as well as Bulgaria’s National Action Plan for the Conservation of the Egyptian Vulture (2023–2032).
• Water resources in the area are limited. The project plans water abstraction from Arpa Dere, even though the documents indicate low water availability, weak groundwater recharge, and periods when river flow falls below the required ecological minimum. This is especially alarming in an area already affected by drought and places the future of water resources in the entire Byala Reka catchment at risk.
• The project would also involve hazardous chemicals. The documentation lists ore-processing reagents including MIBC, PAX, copper sulphate, sodium hydrosulphide, and others, increasing the risk to water, soils, waste management, and accident safety.
• The case also has a transboundary dimension. Under the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure, a notification was sent to the Republic of Greece, and the Greek authorities confirmed their wish to participate as an affected party. The documents state that particular attention has been given to the water component.
• There is also a risk to cultural heritage and local livelihoods. Archaeological sites have been recorded in the lands of Rozino and Gugutka, with four of them located in immediate proximity to the concession area. The area is also poorly studied, and unregistered archaeological sites may be affected by future exploration or mining activities. At the same time, the project threatens traditional livelihoods linked to the land, water, and preserved natural environment of the Byala Reka valley.
• This project threatens the long-term public interest. The risks to nature, water resources, local communities, and cultural heritage far outweigh any short-term economic benefit from mining.
• The full documentation for the investment proposal “Extraction and processing of polymetallic ores from the Rozino deposit, Tintyava area, Ivaylovgrad Municipality, Haskovo Region”, with investor “Tintyava Exploration” AD can be found on the website of the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water

Our demands

• Immediate halt to all procedures for the proposed mine in the protected area of “Byala Reka”.
• The introduction of a clear ban on open-pit mining in protected areas of the European Natura 2000 network.

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Photo: Ivo Danchev