LET'S SAVE OUR DEHESA. NO TO THE LITHIUM MINE

WHO WE ARE

We are a group of people united in defense of the territory of Las Navas (Cáceres, Extremadura) against the threat of the opening of an open pit mine in our immediate surroundings by a company that "bets" on extractivism.

The Plataforma No a la mina de Cañaveral, was born from the concern of a local person about the mega-mining project that lurks in the area. Little by little, talking to neighbors, making them aware of the news of the media, studying the few data of the project they manage to find out, a group of citizens get togheter to form the Plataforma No a la mina de Cañaveral.

This heterogeneous, civic group, aware of the value of the Dehesa that their fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers worked so hard for, and whose values have been passed down from generation to generation, emphasizes the respect necessary to maintain the balance between nature and the consumption of the misnamed green energies that a few, driven by their own greed, promote by plundering and desertifying territories that are alien to them except to get from them what they crave, regardless of the consequences.

We could define ourselves, among others, as:

• Friends of those who love the planet.
• Defenders of the natural balance that will allow us to have a livable world.
• Protectors of our environment.
• Creators of sustainable initiatives to save our habitat.
• Well aware of the devastating consequences that the mine would mean.
• And above all, we are rebels. We are not satisfied with what an overly interested company tells us.

Our goal: Stop the mine.

THE MINE

The mine that Lithium Iberia intends to install in the Dehesa Boyal de las Navas consists of a mega project of disproportionate dimensions, about 2500 ha, that will settle only 600 meters from the village of Grimaldo and 1.5 kilometers from the town of Holguera. Too close to the mining exploitation are also towns like Torrejoncillo, Pedroso de Acim, Valdencín, Riolobos and Portezuelo, which will be affected by toxic dust, possible contamination of aquifers, light and noise pollution, and overall: devastation.

The mega-mine will have 3 cuts from which the mineral will be extracted a few meters from Grimaldo, a temporary toxic waste pond halfway between the cuts and the permanent mine, which will be installed in the town of Holguera, with an area of 207 hectares and a few meters from the town itself and its irrigation canals. A torrential rain, as the ones we are unfortunately suffering in recent years, would cause a runoff that would reach the irrigation canals, contaminating them and leaving unproductive land and livestock farms.

Since we first learned about this mining megaproject we have encountered:

• Obscurantism from Public Administrations, which do not provide information about the mine.
  • Attempts to urgently reclassify agricultural land for compatible uses with the mine.
• Misleading publicity campaigns that try to sell the alleged jobs that this mega mine would generate to society, silencing the groups that argue and demonstrate the opposite.

As you can see, this project is a real threat to our environment and its future.

WHY DO WE OPPOSE?

As you can see, not only should we but must value our natural and vital heritage, so necessary in the context of climate change that we are already suffering.

We must protect the Dehesa, a peninsular ecosystem unique in the world, which is the result of beneficial human management of nature, passed down from generation to generation for centuries, and in which there is a great wealth of flora and fauna.
So far, this ecosystem has remained intact thanks to the efforts of the inhabitants, who reciprocally benefit from the resources it offers throughout the year. However, the population has not been consulted or informed about the change of land use of these agricultural and livestock lands towards mining extractivism.

We must protect buildings of high heritage value such as the Cabezón Hermitage, the Palancar Convent or the Grimaldo Castle, which are very close to the mine and are in serious danger.
The Cañada Soriana Occidental and the Vía de la Plata or Mozarabic road that is so much promoted by the Junta de Extremadura, would be affected in the section that goes from the Puerto de los Castaños in Holguera's direction.

There is also a psychological affectation as well as a moral affectation that unites all these dangers in the physical environment that, through soil, water and air, will affect flora and fauna, and inevitably will affect the people who are part of this attacked ecosystem.

The psychological impact has components of fear and anxiety for the loss of everything that has been linked to our lives, since this mega project endangers the future of the Dehesa and its nearby population: this mega mine will dry up the Galisteo aquifer, which supplies a large part of the local population, in addition to depleting much of the surface water available to all of us. This issue is vital for the development of the population of the area, since the vast majority of them are farmers and livestock breeders who need water to carry out their work and who are already suffering the ravages that droughts and climate change produce on their activity.

Now, several years after the beginning of this journey, the promoting company has launched a campaign of face washing: several CEO are holding meetings with the local government in the area to promote a new "less invasive" project that they refuse to provide us for study and review. A new attempt of propaganda that remains wastepaper.

ACTIVITIES

Since the beginning the work of this citizen Platform, in spite of the pandemic, has been incessant:

-We started handing out leaflets in villages.

-Sending manifestos (that not even some town halls have read) to town councils, associations, companies economically related to the area....

• Informative talks have been held in: Casas de Millán, Holguera, Ríolobos, Pedroso de Acím, Portezuelo, Torrejoncillo and Serradilla.

• We have held meetings with the mayors who have agreed to receive us.

  -We give information about the data we have on the project to anyone who asks us for it.

• We organized a protest march from Grimaldo to Cañaveral (2 hours and 35 minutes, in which 250 people participated).

• We organized a hiking route to make the Dehesa known (about 100 people participated).

• We collected 35,000 online signatures and 1,000 physical signatures supporting our opposition to the mining project.

• We set up "information tables" at events that allow us to do so in order to make our defense of the territory visible.

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP

The defense of the territory of Las Navas is a commitment to our past and our future and is something that goes beyond the local. It is not just a matter of substituting some fossil energy materials for others, but of reflecting on our way of producing and considering priorities and needs. The new order should not involve sacrificing anything that is vital for our survival: aren't water, soil and air the most vital things in our lives?

When we say that we have the obligation to defend our territory, we do not defend the so called "not in my backyard", to which we would also have the same right as anyone else. Our Platform do not want to point the finger at others so that their territory should be devastated instead of ours.

Who chooses the expendable, who chooses the sacrifice zones?

WE DON'T WANT TO BE A SACRIFICE ZONE. WE NEED YOU**.

**WE HOPE TO COUNT ON YOU IN THESE 40 DAYS. ASK ANYTHING YOU NEED.

Don't be left with any doubts. In the Platform No to the Cañaveral Mine we make transparency one of our basic foundations. Contact us. Do not hesitate.

You can find us in:
https://www.facebook.com/plataformanoalaminadecanaveral
https://twitter.com/MinaCanaveralNo
https://instagram.com/plataformanominacanaveral?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCKkYRBpxdz3c-VPPCKQ0wnQ