DOM are pleased with the decision of the Ministry of Economy not to issue an approval for the exploitation of the Ilovica mine. According to them, this is a victory of the ecologists from Strumica including a victory for the whole country over the mining lobby.
“This is a victory over the arguments for a healthy life and a healthy living environment over the profit for a group of people. Exactly three years ago, DOM took a stand against the dangerous mines with cyanide and sulfuric acid by participating at the protest led by our prematurely gone colleague and spokesperson, Toni Ristov, at the public discussion for the Study of the evaluation of the influence over the living environment by the Ilovica mine. What followed were our written notifications which turned out into a campaign for informing the citizens of the dangers of these types of mines which continued in the preparation of the Law for mineral raw materials that was supported by DOM’s MPs.
They think that this should be followed by a revision of the remaining mining concessions, in accordance with the changes in the Law for mineral raw materials. The ban on the use of cyanide and sulfuric acid has to be obeyed as dangerous pollutants of the living environment.
