• This is supported by the results of the latest official analyses carried out this year, whose values remain below the legally required parameters.
• These analyses show that the streams outside the mine’s boundaries have no influence on the municipality’s current drinking water catchment point.
• The Company has also reiterated that it does not carry out any discharges, as the water from its industrial process is entirely recirculated internally.
• All of this was explained in Penouta to the spokespersons of the three political parties represented in the Council of Viana do Bolo.

Spokespersons for the three political parties represented in the Council of Viana do Bolo and the Company holding the concession for the Penouta mine, Strategic Minerals Spain, met today in Penouta to present them with data showing, contrary to information published in recent weeks, that operations at the Penouta mine have no influence on the area surrounding the concession or any effect on the municipal water catchment.

In a commitment to transparency, communication and willingness to collaborate with local authorities, the company presented data showing that the streams surrounding the mine have no effect on the municipality’s water catchment point. The Company has demonstrated that the readings, based on the controls conducted for the annual environmental monitoring plan required by the Environmental Impact Statement, the mandatory ones required by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Miño-Sil, as well as the monthly voluntary ones, have always remained within the values recorded in the pre-operational study carried out between 2013 and 2016. This study was conducted prior to the beginning of operations, thus demonstrating that there is no impact on the environment.

Notably, the latest analyses conducted by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Miño-Sil on water samples in 2024 reveal the following results: Arsenic levels are five to ten times lower than the legal limit, and cadmium levels are well below half the legal limit set by Spanish Real Decreto 817/2015 dated September 11. This Royal Decree establishes the criteria for monitoring and assessing the health of surface waters and environmental quality standards. The Company wishes to clarify that all sampling and analyses conducted to date have always been carried out by laboratories accredited by ENAC regulations for all the elements analyzed.

For all these reasons, the Company firmly rejects the statements about contamination caused by mining activity in the area, reiterating that they have no credibility, as this information is neither proven nor accredited. This has led to unfounded misinformation and caused social alarm that is unrelated to the reality of the Penouta Mine.

The three spokespersons for the political parties of the Council of Viana do Bolo reiterated their support on-site, expressing their solidarity with the company and the environment, and their commitment to the continuation of the Penouta Mine project.

The activity of the mine is sustainable and does not pollute

In reference to the point of upwelling that has been mentioned in recent weeks, this is, due to the geology of the environment, of natural origin, like many other mineral water upwellings found throughout Galicia. Furthermore, Strategic Minerals Spain states that the company does not discharge any industrial process water as the water is recirculated, and that, in any case, it complies with the quality parameters required by the regulations.