The impact of the Ada Tepe gold mine on the ecological status of Krumovitsa River, Bulgaria

Ada Tepe is a gold mine in the area of the Eastern Rhodope Mountains near Krumovgrad in Bulgaria, which officially began operation in August 2019. Ada Tepe is the one out of six sections of the gold mining field Khan Krum. Dundee Precious Metals owns a 30-year concession for the Khan Krum mining field, and the Ada Tepe mine was financed by the EBRD. It impacts the Natura 2000 Habitats Directive site Rodopi-Iztochni and the Natura 2000 Birds Directive site Krumovitsa. Bulgarian state authorities only approved the project after the investor significantly reduced the project’s exploitation area and minimised their expected usage of pollutants. The investor was further obliged to prevent environmental degradation and pollution through strict management of waste water and mining waste. An independent hydrobiological study on the impact of the mine’s operation on a 12 kilometre section of the Krumovitsa River was conducted in October 202029. Discharge conditions were not suitable for proper ecological assessment because some river sections were dry, without any surface water flow. However, the visit took place during a rainy period and erosional flows coming from the mining area were registered and observed to be the cause of the blanketing and colmatation (clogging) of the Krumovitsa River bed. Such an impact disrupts water exchange between the surface and hyporheic zones and negatively affects the macroinvertebrate community, which is highly dependent on the conditions in the interstitial microhabitats and hyporheic zone during periods of drought. The affected section was 2 kilometres long. These conditions differed significantly from those upstream of the mining area, where the river was in excellent ecological status. The presence of fish and otters along the whole investigated section of Krumovitsa River is a positive sign, however, indicating that the river ecosystem is not heavily affected.

Source: bankwatch.org

LATEST NEWS

• June 14, 2023 The Serbian Institute for Critical Materials launches a regional mining platform for knowledge exchange
• April 24, 2023 Without sustainable mining, there is no renewable future
• March 25, 2023 Europe revives mining to reduce dependence on the import of key raw materials
• March 8, 2023 Calcium Carbonate Industry, Reshaping the Market Growth, Serbian supplier to match European industrial demand
• August 13, 2023 Environment South East Europe Watch temporarily suspends the activity
• August 9, 2023 Regional Coalition Aims to Protect Up to 400 Kilometres of Rivers Across Southeast Europe
• August 9, 2023 Meeting Serbia’s Energy Needs: A Smart Siting Map for Solar Power