Gold mining lease extension and company donation spark criticism in Thrace
The Interprefectural Committee Against Gold Mining in Rhodope and Evros has renewed its opposition to gold extraction in Thrace, criticising a five-year extension of a mining site's lease and the acceptance of an equipment donation from mining company Metallia Thrakis by a vocational education institution in Komotini (Gümülcine).
In a statement dated October 16, the committee argued that the decisions contradict the long-standing opposition to gold mining expressed by local communities, municipalities and other organisations in the region.
The committee said a September 23, 2026, decision by Greece’s Ministry of Environment and Energy extended the lease for a mining site in the Kono area, which spans the regional units of Rhodope and Evros, for another five years.
It described the extension as inconsistent with the position repeatedly expressed by local communities against gold mining in the area.
COMMITTEE CITES PRIME MINISTER’S ASSURANCES
The committee also referred to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s visit to Komotini on November 11, 2025, when he reportedly stated that mining would not proceed without the local community’s consent.
The committee argued that the latest lease extension conflicts with that assurance and raised concerns about the decision-making process surrounding the project.
DONATION TO VOCATIONAL SCHOOL ALSO CRITICISED
The committee separately criticised the acceptance of equipment donated by Metallia Thrakis to the Experimental Higher Vocational Training School (SAEK) in Komotini.
According to the committee, the donation highlights the government’s failure to adequately equip public educational institutions through public resources. It argued that accepting the equipment effectively exposes these shortcomings.
The criticism centres on the relationship between the mining company’s activities in the region and a public institution receiving its support. The committee’s statement did not establish any direct link between the donation and the lease-extension decision.
OPPOSITION TO GOLD EXTRACTION REAFFIRMED
The committee said changes to company names or other attempts to continue mining operations would not alter the local community’s opposition.
Reiterating its message, “No gold mining in Thrace,” the group pledged to continue campaigning for what it described as a sustainable future for the region without the threat of gold extraction.
