Mining
conflicts are increasingly surfacing globally due to complains over
mines and pollution of water, soil and land occupied as well as over
transport and waste disposal. The Skouries forest in Halkidiki has been
at the center of a hot dispute between the mining company, Hellas Gold, a
subsidiary of the Canadian mining giant Eldorado Gold and local
communities. The company claims that an ambitious plan for mining of
gold and copper in the area- including deforestation and open pit mining
with excavation and everyday use of explosives- will benefit the region
through the creation of some 5,000 direct and indirect jobs, while
local residents argue that the planned investment will cause
considerable damage to the environment and livelihoods, resulting to
many more jobs losses in the existing sectors of the local economy
(farming, pasture land, fisheries, beekeeping, food processing and
tourism). The residents’ claims are supported by research conducted by
various independent scientific institutions including the Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki and the Technical Chamber of Macedonia. In
addition to legitimacy questions underpinning the transfer of mining
rights from the Greek state to the aforementioned company [1],
the Environmental Impact Assessment produced by El Dorado has been
found to contain gross methodological discrepancies and whilst the
public consultation process could be at best described as cosmetic [2].
Mining
conflicts are increasingly surfacing globally due to complains over
mines and pollution of water, soil and land occupied as well as over
transport and waste disposal. The Skouries forest in Halkidiki has been
at the center of a hot dispute between the mining company, Hellas Gold, a
subsidiary of the Canadian mining giant Eldorado Gold and local
communities. The company claims that an ambitious plan for mining of
gold and copper in the area- including deforestation and open pit mining
with excavation and everyday use of explosives- will benefit the region
through the creation of some 5,000 direct and indirect jobs, while
local residents argue that the planned investment will cause
considerable damage to the environment and livelihoods, resulting to
many more jobs losses in the existing sectors of the local economy
(farming, pasture land, fisheries, beekeeping, food processing and
tourism). The residents’ claims are supported by research conducted by
various independent scientific institutions including the Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki and the Technical Chamber of Macedonia. In
addition to legitimacy questions underpinning the transfer of mining
rights from the Greek state to the aforementioned company [1],
the Environmental Impact Assessment produced by El Dorado has been
found to contain gross methodological discrepancies and whilst the
public consultation process could be at best described as cosmetic [2].
