Thrace technical chamber opposes gold mining project at Rozino
The Technical Chamber of Greece’s Thrace Department (TEE Thrace) has opposed the licensing of a proposed polymetallic mining and processing project at the Rozino deposit in Ivaylovgrad, Bulgaria, warning that the submitted Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) does not provide sufficient environmental or technical safeguards.
The chamber took part in the public consultation process for the project, citing its institutional role in protecting the environment and public safety in the cross-border Thrace region.
Following a technical assessment by a working group of scientists, the TEE Thrace Administrative Committee unanimously approved the group’s recommendations. The chamber subsequently submitted its position both to the Regional Council of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace and as part of the public consultation.
Technical and environmental concerns
According to TEE Thrace, the submitted EIA contains significant technical deficiencies, management and metallurgical gaps, as well as a lack of critical safety and structural assessments.
Among the concerns identified are insufficient information on the long-term geochemical behaviour of mining waste, including the risk of acid mine drainage, and inadequate hydrogeological data concerning fault zones.
The chamber also identified the absence of a mass balance for chemical reagents used in the process as a significant technical gap.
Concerns over tailings dam safety
TEE Thrace said the EIA does not adequately clarify the environmental consequences of the second stage of final metallurgical processing and does not provide sufficient financial guarantees in proportion to the potential risks associated with the project.
The assessment also reportedly lacks evidence demonstrating the structural and seismic adequacy of the tailings dam.
In addition, the chamber said there is no dam-break study or quantitative risk assessment covering potential failure scenarios involving the tailings facility.
Calls for further studies and cross-border safeguards
TEE Thrace is calling for additional technical studies before the project can be properly evaluated.
These include detailed hydrogeological, geochemical and seismic assessments, cross-border accident-risk analyses and an updated assessment of potential impacts in light of climate change.
The chamber is also seeking a review of the project's risk classification toward a stricter category, citing the potentially wide-ranging consequences of a major accident.
Another key demand is the establishment of a binding cross-border monitoring system and emergency-response plans before any licensing decision is made.
TEE Thrace calls for licensing to be rejected
TEE Thrace concluded that, in its current form and based on the information currently available, the Rozino project does not provide the environmental and technical safety required to justify its approval.
The chamber is therefore calling on Greek authorities to request that the Bulgarian side fully supplement the project's documentation and studies before the licensing process proceeds.
The full decision and technical observations are available on the TEE Thrace website.
