The Faramontaos feldspar mine (2013)

In spring 2013 the comarca saw one of its broadest neighbourhood mobilisations in recent decades: opposition to an open-pit feldspar mine at Faramontaos (Xinzo de Limia), applied for by the company Minercer, S.L. (the reports also spell the name Minicerner and Mincercer). This page summarises the facts according to the digital newspaper Limia Dixital, whose information comes largely from statements by the groups that took part, indicated in each case.

The project and the platform

The project, identified in the reports as "Faramontaos 58991", envisaged an open-pit feldspar mine at the Faramontaos site ^[1][6]. The Corno do Monte Neighbourhood Platform, which grouped the opposition, stated that the company’s mining rights extended from Ganade to Sarreaus, so it did not rule out other similar workings ^[1]. Its slogan was "A mina ou nós" (the mine or us) ^[1].

The mobilisation

• 27 March 2013. A rally in Xinzo called by the Platform at midday, which, according to Limia Dixital, hundreds of people attended and all the groups of the town council (including the government), the town’s shops, businesspeople, environmental movements and unions answered. The Platform’s president read a manifesto and it was announced that actions would be repeated on the 27th of each month, coinciding with the Xinzo fair ^[1].
• 16 May. The BNG reported, after a warning from residents of Faramontaos and Seoane de Oleiros, night-time test drilling at the A Ribeira site, linked to the mining right LUIS 4943 (12 mining grids in the triangle of Faramontaos, Novás and Seoane de Oleiros, for ornamental granite) ^[2].
• 17 May. The mayor of Xinzo, Antonio Pérez, declared that "the Faramontaos mine will not be opened under any circumstances" and recalled that the municipal opening licence was the Concello’s responsibility ^[3].
• 25 May. A tractor march called by the Platform, which it later considered the "definitive push" ^[2][7].
• 30 May. The Platform began collecting signatures against the Xunta’s Sectoral Plan for Extractive Activities of Galicia ^[4].

The decision

On 21 May the Minister of Environment, Agustín Hernández, had said in the Baixa Limia that the project "was not viable", and on 4 June the Minister of Rural Affairs, Rosa Quintana, told the mayor a little more. On 12 June the president of the Xunta, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, confirmed in Parliament that the Xunta would not authorise the mine for environmental reasons and because the project would interrupt the activity of numerous farms; the reports say 246 or 250 ^[5]. The project was declared "incompatible" with the comarca’s farming and livestock activity ^[5].

The mayor said that "this sad story has ended happily" ^[6]. The Platform maintained it was a "victory for the neighbours" and warned that the declaration had no legal value until there was a resolution of the Xunta’s Council published in the official gazettes, and that Minercer retained its rights and could resubmit the project ^[7].

Links

• History of A Limia
• Xinzo de Limia
• Water, nitrates and irrigation in A Limia

Sources

1. Limia Dixital (Ourense Dixital), «A Limia advierte a Minicerner de que luchará los 30 años que dure la explotación» (28-03-2013). http://www.ourensedixital.com:80/_limia_novas/13/03/28_01.htm
2. Limia Dixital (Ourense Dixital), «Denuncian catas con nocturnidade para un nuevo proyecto de cantera de granito en Xinzo de Limia» (16-05-2013). http://www.ourensedixital.com:80/_limia_novas/13/05/16_01.htm
3. Limia Dixital (Ourense Dixital), «Alcalde de Xinzo de Limia, Antonio Pérez: A mina de Faramontaos non se abre baixo ningún concepto» (17-05-2013). http://www.ourensedixital.com:80/_limia_novas/13/05/17_01.htm
4. Limia Dixital (Ourense Dixital), «Afirman que la mina de Minercer subyugará hasta las inversiones del Concello de Xinzo a la actividad minera» (30-05-2013). http://www.ourensedixital.com:80/_limia_novas/13/05/30_01.htm
5. Limia Dixital (Ourense Dixital), «Feijóo confirma en el Parlamento de Galicia que la Xunta denegará la explotación de feldespatos de Faramontaos en Xinzo» (13-06-2013). http://www.ourensedixital.com:80/_limia_novas/13/06/13_01.htm
6. Limia Dixital (Ourense Dixital), «Rematou esta triste historia con final feliz, dice el alcalde de Xinzo tras el no de la Xunta a la mina de Faramontaos» (14-06-2013). http://www.ourensedixital.com:80/_limia_novas/13/06/14_01.htm
7. Limia Dixital (Ourense Dixital), «Aunque se confirme la negativa, Corno do Monte insiste en que nada impide a Minercer volver a presentar el proyecto» (14-06-2013). http://www.ourensedixital.com:80/_limia_novas/13/06/14_02.htm