DOM: Antimony must not be a “strategic” excuse for bypassing procedures

North Macedonia’s green party, the Democratic Renewal of Macedonia (DOM), has reacted strongly after Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski’s latest statement that the Government will not give up exploiting antimony for the country’s economic development. As the Makfax agency reports, DOM is demanding complete and verifiable information on the “Krstov Dol” project near the village of Luke, in the Kriva Palanka region, stressing that antimony must not serve as a “strategic” excuse for bypassing legal procedures.

DOM recalls that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signed an agreement in April for up to five million dollars in development financing for the company “Pela Global” — but stresses that these are funds for feasibility studies and research, with which the project’s viability still has to be confirmed. The potential strategic interest of global supply chains, according to the party, must not be used as proof of economic viability, nor as an excuse for lowering environmental criteria.

DOM therefore asks the Government to answer publicly the key questions: how large are the proven ore reserves and on which geological studies were they determined; what capacity and what exploitation and processing technology is planned; how much water will be used, from which sources and how pollution will be prevented; where the tailings will be stored and who will guarantee long-term safety; who will cover the reclamation costs and what financial guarantees the investor will provide; and whether independent studies on the impact on health and the environment have been carried out and when they will be made public for citizens.

If the Government truly wants this project to be an example of economic development, then it must also be an example of transparency, responsibility and protection of the public interest, the party stresses. The strategic importance of a mineral, DOM assesses, does not override domestic procedures: natural resources and their exploitation must be based on facts, rules and transparency, not on political statements and promises.

The debate over antimony has been heated for weeks in North Macedonia. Prime Minister Mickoski announced on 19 September, in an interview for the MIA agency from Washington, that the antimony project in “Krstov Dol” would receive the American grant for further development. Antimony is a critical and rare mineral, used mainly in the military industry, and according to Mickoski the potential reserves could significantly raise North Macedonia’s strategic and economic importance. But the social-democratic opposition (SDSM) has demanded a local referendum and warned of health and environmental risks, arguing that antimony extraction could pollute groundwater with heavy metals.