The following text is a portion of the Resolution. To view the full document, see the link at the bottom of the page.

N/A: RE-AGUAB-EXT-220323-REAPERSUB

RESOLUTION OF THE DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF ENERGY POLICY AND MINES APPROVING THE PROJECT OF EXPLOITATION BY INTERIOR OF THE DEFINITIVE RESERVE IN FAVOR OF THE STATE CALLED "AGUABLANCA" AND AUTHORIZING THE UPDATING OF THE ASSOCIATED RESTORATION PLAN.

A N T E C E D E N T E S

"Narcea River Resources, S.A." (RNR) is the holder of the right to exploit the mineral resources of the Reserve in favour of the State “Aguablanca”, located in the municipality of Monesterio (Badajoz), declared by Royal Decree 1032/2003, dated 25 July (BOE No. 187, of 6 August 2003), following a favourable environmental impact statement (DIA) by resolution of 2 June 2003, of the General Secretariat for the Environment (BOE No. 144, June 17).

Having announced the end of open-pit mining in 2014 and with the proposed change to an underground mining operation, by Order of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, of July 21, 2015, the underground mining operation in the aforementioned reserve was suspended until the DIA favorable to the new underground project neo.Por was obtained. Resolution of the General Directorate of Energy and Mines Policy, of July 30, 2015, the project of temporary suspension of work in the field of mining safety was approved.

By resolution of July 21, 2017, of the Secretary of State for the Environment (BOE No. 185, of 4 August), the DIA requirement was formulated for the new underground project, including the submission of an updated Restoration Plan that included the underground mining operations.

In parallel, and in order to adapt the original restoration plan of 2003 (open pit mining) to Royal Decree 975/2009, of 12 June, on waste management of the extractive industries and protection and rehabilitation of the space affected by mining activities, RNR requested, on 1 August 2019, the approval of the update of the Restoration Plan under the hypothesis of closure and closure of the mining complex, which was approved by resolution of the General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines of 1 September 2022.

Having produced a shareholding change in the aforementioned market in 2021, RNR formally requested the reopening of the mining operation of Aguablanca, with the presentation, on April 1, 2022, of the new general project of exploitation by underground mining and on April 8, 2022, of the modification of the restoration plan, all in order to comply with the condition of the DIA formulated by resolution of July 21, 2017, whose validity is extended for two additional years according to resolution of the General Directorate of Quality and Environmental Assessment of October 7, 2021.

On October 14, 2022, the General Subdirectorate of Mines sent a request to the company to provide additional documentation to the one presented on April 8, 2022. This additional documentation, which includes the “Restoration Plan for the updating of the underground mining project of the Aguablanca mine”, entered the Subdirectorate General of Mines on January 17, 2023.

The modifications proposed by this new Restoration Plan can be summarized in: (i) preparatory work, such as the emptying of cut water, (ii) the definition of waste flow under the DIA 2017 conditionality and (iii) the inclusion of additional monitoring and auscultation milestones to be installed in various areas affected by mining activities.

Given that this update contains modifications introduced to comply with the provisions of the DIA in the event that the underground operation was reopened, it was considered appropriate to carry out further consultations and the processing of public information in accordance with the provisions of articles 5.1 and 6.5, respectively, of Royal Decree 975/2009, of 12 June.

The announcement to submit this project to the public information process for a period of 30 working days was published in the Official State Gazette on January 31, 2023. In parallel, the affected Public Administrations and interested persons were consulted again. A summary of the allegations presented during this consultation and public information process is included as Annex III, Part A. Likewise, a summary of the responses of the promoter company and its consideration is included in the same Annex III, part B.

On February 21, 2023, the company was sent a request on the Indoor Exploitation Project that included clarifications on maintenance, geotechnics, ventilation, and electrical installation, among others. In addition, it requested the drafting of a plan or programme for the implementation of the preparatory work consistent with the exploitation project.

On May 19, 2023, RNR provided the additional documentation that responded to the requested clarifications on the Exploitation Project. Within this documentation, RNR included a specific program of preparatory work for the resumption of the exploitation of the Aguablanca site through indoor mining.

On July 10, 2023, the last report received from the Public Administrations affected was sent to RNR, together with a motion for a resolution as a hearing procedure in accordance with the provisions of article 82 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations. On July 12, 2023, RNR expresses its acceptance of the proposal of this resolution, committing itself to comply with the content of its conditionality to proceed to the restart of indoor mining by phases, as provided in the same.

F U N D A M E N T O S D E D E R E C H O

Article 7 of Law 22/1973, of July 21, on Mines, and its corresponding article 9 of Royal Decree 2857/1978, of August 25, approving the General Regulations for the Mining Regime, establish that the State may reserve areas throughout the national territory, territorial sea and continental shelf in which the use of one or more mineral deposits and other geological resources may have special interest for economic and social development or for national defense.

... The rest of the ducument can be downloaded from the following link specified below.