DUNDEE Precious Metals' plans to mine gold near the South-Eastern Bulgarian town of Krumovgrad are being threatened by escalating protests from locals concerned about the environmental impact of the operation. 
Environmental organisations and residents of Krumovgrad have prepared a letter to the European Green Party, asking for assistance to stop the Canadian company's gold mining project, Fidanka Bacheva, a representative of the environmental protection association For the Earth, said on July 20.
"Our concerns stem from the fact that the project involves gold extraction by the open-pit method, using cyanides," Bacheva said. She noted that the pit is only 800 metres from the local hospital.
Environmentalists argue that the technology, which involves the use of cyanide, is among the most dangerous to people and the environment. In the event of an industrial accident, cyanide pollution will affect the Maritsa River system and the Aegean coast of Greece and Turkey.
A public discussion on the project was scheduled to take place on August 18, Bacheva said. Academics in Greece and Turkey have also expressed concern about the technology to be used.
Reacting to earlier public expressions of environmental fears, in September 2004 Dundee Precious Metals stated that mining will be done by the highest environmental standards applied in Bulgaria and the European Union.
Lawrence Marsland, the head of the company's Bulgarian operations, said they will start no operations that harm the environment or the health of people in the area. He said river conditions had been monitored for the past two years. He was clear that they were ready to include in the environmental impact assessment all parameters suggested by locals.
In early July, the company announced it had received the definitive feasibility study for the project. 
"The results of the study confirm the economics of the deposit and allow us to now proceed with the plans for the construction of the mine, the public hearings for the Environmental Impact Assessment and the permitting process," said Jonathan Goodman, president and CEO of Dundee.
The project is projected to produce 150 000 ounces of gold annually for the first four years of operations. The after-tax payback period is projected at almost two years. 
The mining method selected is an open pit, drill, blast, load and haul operation, using a hydraulic excavator to carry out selective mining. It is commonly employed throughout the world.
Study results have confirmed that gold recovery will be in excess of 94 per cent for each ore type. Silver recovery will range between 80 and 88 per cent, depending on the ore type.
The mine will employ 300 people at its peak during construction and 230 people during operations.
Dundee purchased the Krumovgrad Gold Project from Navan Mining Plc on September 30, 2003. The Canadian company has spent approximately $36 million on buying the plant and further expenditures since then. 
In Bulgaria, Dundee Precious operates through two subsidiaries, Chelopech Mining EAD, which develops a copper-and-gold deposit at Chelopech, and Balkan Mineral & Mining EAD, which prospects for gold in the Krumovgrad area.