Walter Finch
ENVIRONMENTALISTS are up in arms over plans to reopen a mine which ‘will dump billions of litres of toxic water’ into two of Spain’s UNESCO Heritage sites.
The infamous Aznalcollar mine, which caused Andalucia’s worst environmental catastrophe 27 years ago, received environmental authorisation from the Junta to begin business again in July 2024.
A coalition of pressure groups including GreenPeace and the WWF are urgently trying to block this development.
They fear an astounding 85.5 billion litres of toxic water will be released into the Guadalquivir River over the mine’s 17-year operational period if it reopens.
Such a discharge would threaten a number of popular Spanish hotspots including Sevilla, Cadiz and the Costa de la Luz.
“This would seriously contaminate the river with heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead, zinc, nickel, and selenium, from Sevilla to Sanlucar de Barrameda,” the groups warned.
Watchdogs have slammed the ‘woefully inadequate’ environmental studies that gave the mine the green light for ignoring the potential devastating consequences to La Doñana and the Guadalquivir wetlands – both UNESCO treasures that draw thousands of tourists annually.
Earlier this month, local mayors, farmers, fishermen, consumer associations, and medical professionals joined scientists and the Andalusian Ombudsman in demanding an independent expert committee to evaluate the contamination risks.
Compounding concerns, the 2015 mining rights awarded to Mexican firm Minera Los Frailes to reopen the controversial mine remain under judicial review.
A trial that began in March at Sevilla’s Provincial Court could even see those rights withdrawn entirely.
The environmental coalition is demanding the suspension of all mining authorisations until the trial is over and the creation of an independent commission to assess the environmental risks.
The original Aznalcollar disaster in 1998 released six million cubic meters of toxic sludge, contaminated 60 kilometres of the Guadiamar River, and cost Spanish taxpayers over €240 million in cleanup operations.
The company responsible, Swedish firm Boliden, never covered these costs.
The spill consisted primarily of heavy metal-laden sludge and acidic water that had been stored in the mine’s containment pond.
“That disaster remains vivid in Andalucia’s memory,” the environmental groups stated as the anniversary of the 1998 disaster approaches tomorrow (April 25).
“The Guadalquivir River is not just a waterway—it’s the backbone of Andalucian identity. The Andalucian government must not fail again.”
The coalition consists of five leading environmental groups – Amigas de la Tierra, Ecologistas en Acción, Greenpeace, SEO/BirdLife and WWF.
