Petition is addressed to: Petitionsausschuss des Europäischen Parlaments

The petitioner states that the mine at Santa Comba, originally licensed under concessions granted between 1942 and 1947, extracted sulphur ore deposits but also removed significant amounts of arsenopyrite, pyrite and chalcopyrite, causing acidic run-off that contaminated the groundwater and nearby rivers. The mine closed in 1986. The petitioner states that, although the concessions should have lapsed and been declared void, in 2008 they were purchased by a new company which has apparently submitted a new project to restore and re-open the mine. Although reports had been issued stating that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the mine was needed, the authorities approved the projects, in flagrant disregard of the EU directives on the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) and public participation. The petitioner adds that the mining concessions have recently been purchased by an Australian company, Rafaella Resources Limited, which intends to mine for tin and tungsten and open new open-pit mines, without the necessary environmental permits. Meanwhile, an unconnected Swedish company, Eurobattery Minerals AB, intends to dig a huge open-cast nickel-copper-cobalt mine in areas of natural habitats protected by EU legislation. The petitioner reports that the Galician Government has systematically blocked access to environmental information about the Santa Comba mine, in breach of the Aarhus Convention and the related directive, adding that this has given rise to a communication to the UN’s Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, currently under consideration as procedure No ACCC/C/2017/153.