The Constitutional Court rejects an apeal by the spanish Government amendments made by Xunta de Galicia in the Law of Mining 3/2008, which causes the company to lose the mineral rights concessions “Emilita 1221″, “Ciudad de Landro 1454″ and “Ciudad de Masma 1455″ which were part of his main operating plan in the Bergantinos region (Corunna).
The legislation has ratified the court confirms that mineral rights can be denied by “insufficient proof of financial or technical capacity of the applicant” as happened to the canadian mining company Edgewater, whom the galician regional Government officially announced the cancellation of the project March 11, 2014 acting within the powers of the law 12/2014.
Now the Constitutional Court has ruled in favor of the Xunta de Galicia, noting that Article 28.3 of the Statute of Autonomy of Galicia regional government allows the execution of the law of the State in mining.
AN EXCELLENT RESULT FOR COMMUNITIES
Although the ruling is a setback for Edgewater, the company has announced that it will appeal to international arbitration to defend their interests, and that there are still pending a court decision in the High Court of Galicia for the cancellation of the mining project.
However, in practice, the Constitutional Court ruling ends aspirations of the company to develop its mining plan in the region of Bergantinos.
A TIME OF CELEBRATION
Of course, as could not be otherwise, Save Cabana Platform (“Plataforma Salvemos Cabana”) welcomes this court ruling, which is a success of the galician society as a whole in the defense of the environment and public health, and want to show their appreciation to all those people, organizations and institutions that have supported the fight against the mining project since 2012. Because canceling the initiative in Corcoesto is a triumph of civil society, collective dignity, but above all a triumph of reason and common sense against the irrationality of markets and transnational economy.
