Controversial Sakdrisi Gold Mine employees demanding resuming operation
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The employees of the Sakdrisi Gold Mine in southern Georgia demanding reestablishing mining at the controversial site said if RMG Gold, a company carrying out the mining operation stopped working at the site, jobs would dry up and they would be unemployed again.
People who lived in Kazreti township, near Sakdrisi together with employees at the mine held a protest which began at the Presidential Palace and continued at the Administration of Government of Georgia.
"All people live in Bolnisi district will join the protest,” said the participant of the protest Lia Ajiashvili.
Meanwhile, one of the member of a group commonly known as the Sakdrisi Protectors came at the protest rally said that those were the people who are looking for the jobs and the government was using them for destroying the cultural heritage.
"RMG Gold will carry out the mining operation only for a year and after that these people will stay out of work,” said Leila Tsomaia member of a group of Sakdrisi Protectors. She demanded action to save the historical artifact from being permanently destroyed by mining.
Meanwhile, the employees at Sakdrisi met the Head of the Government of Georgia’s Administration Maia Tskitishvili and presented their demands.
Furthermore, they asked Tskitishvili to support their interests.
However, Tskitishvili said that they would study the problem in detail.
"Currently, people are demanding reestablishing mining at Sakdrisi. The decision whether to resume mining at site has to be decided by the Government. The government will discuss this issue and make an appropriate decision on the objective circumstances of the case. We consider the position of all the parties, which are discussing the given problem during all this period, with full responsibility", Tskitishvili said.
Sakdrisi Gold Mine has been one of the country’s main topics of discussion after the Government approved private gold mining company RMG Gold to resume mining at the controversial site one week ago.
Mining resumed on December 12 – one day after the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection and the National Agency of Cultural Heritage Protection approved RMG Gold’s request to resume mining at the site. Some experts believed Sakdrisi Gold Mine was one of the oldest gold mines in the world, dating back almost 5,000 years.
News of re-establishing mining at Sakdrisi Gold Mine was harshly protested by one part of society who said RMG Gold did not have the right to continue working at the site as Tbilisi City Court was still discussing the Ministry’s notion to revoke the mine’s status as a cultural heritage site.
The Sakdrisi Gold Mine was discovered in the early 2000s and excavations began in 2006. It was initially given the status of cultural heritage site but this was revoked by the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection in 2013.
A court debate is still going on about revoking the [cultural heritage] status of the monument.
Every civilized country is obliged to take care of its cultural heritage, said Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili while commenting the controversy surrounding Sakdrisi Gold Mine.
Establishing the historical importance of Sakdrisi Gold Mine in southern Georgia is in doubt after the Government approved RMG Gold to resume mining at the controversial site.
A court decision has annulled a Ministerial decision to suspend Sakdrisi Gold Mine’s status as a historical monument.
A court ruling has overturned a Ministerial decision to allow Russian-owned mining company RMG Gold to continue mining at the Sakdrisi Gold Mine in southern Georgia.
Major issues surrounding the Sakdrisi gold mine will be investigated by international experts in a bid to resolve the vast problems surrounding the mine.
German and Swiss experts are in southern Georgia to assess the controversial mining issue at the Sakdrisi gold mine.
Ministry of Culture officials were forbidden to enter ancient Sakdrisi-Kachaghiani territory, where a prehistoric gold mine is located. Sakdrisi Gold Mine is the oldest gold mine in the world, dating back almost 5,000 years.
The agreement between the strikers and the company’s administration was achieved after the Government appointed a mediator who assisted the parties to negotiate.
Leaving 3,000 families without a job in the current situation in Georgia is a very big irresponsibility, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili today said while commenting the developments around the controversial Sakdrisi Gold Mine.
We must define our priorities considering the country's interests and only then make a decision, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili noted while commenting on the controversial Sakdrisi Gold Mine issue today.
A modern archaeological muhouse will be built in Bolnisi to house the ancient artifacts discovered in Sakdrisi Gold Mine, while RMG Gold will be given a new license to continue its mining activities in Sakdrisi.
Georgia’s civil and political society are joining forces to save one of the oldest gold mines in southern Georgia and to prevent Russian-owned gold and copper mining company RMG Gold from expanding its activities there.