After a succession of contradictory legal decisions, the Bordeaux administrative court of appeal finally ruled this Wednesday, November 27 against the project of the Russian-Canadian consortium Nordgold-Orea Mining, which presents “a risk of serious damage to the environment” .
The victory of ecology for some, the end of an Eldorado for others. The Bordeaux administrative court of appeal confirmed this Wednesday, November 27, the non-extension of the concessions of the mining company Montagne d'Or, in Guyana. This project “presents a risk of serious harm to the environment” in view of nature “extremely polluting” and of «l’importance» of its industrial dimension, ruled by the courts.
Led by the Russian-Canadian consortium Nordgold-Orea mining, it was the largest primary gold extraction project ever proposed in France, covering 800 hectares and expected to produce 6.7 tonnes of gold per year, over twelve years .
This decision has been the subject of legal back and forth for more than five years. In January 2019, the Ministry of the Economy refused to extend two concessions for twenty-five years, as requested since 2018 by the promoters of Montagne d'or. But the refusal of the Ministry of the Economy was overturned by the Cayenne administrative court at the end of 2020, a decision that the Bordeaux administrative court of appeal confirmed in the summer of 2021. The judgments of these two courts were based in particular on the he old version of the mining code, prior to the Climate law of 2021, which allowed concessions to be extended by law when the deposits to which they relate were still exploited.
But in February 2022, the Constitutional Council declared that part of this old mining code – which allowed concessions to be renewed without taking into account the environmental consequences – was contrary to the French Basic Law, opening a route of appeal against the controversial project in Guyana. In October 2023, the Council of State, seized by the Ministry of the Economy, then annulled the judgments of the Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal from 2021 and referred the case to this same court.
“One of the richest ecoregions in the world”
“In view of this new legal framework”the court this time examined the environmental consequences of the concession extensions requested by the mining company, concluding that the refusal by the administration was legal. It thus notes that the concessions in question, of 40 km² in total, “are located in the equatorial forest of Guyana which constitutes one of the richest ecoregions in the world in terms of biodiversity” and that the area presents “important issues of ecological continuity”.
Exploited since the 19th century, these gold concessions have been the subject of fierce opposition from environmental associations for several years. In February 2017, in a press release, the collective of 18 associations Or de question had asked “a moratorium on large-scale mining in Guyana” et “the cessation of all projects of this type already underway”. In 2019, it was the Minister of the Environment François de Rugy himself who recognized that the project was not “not at the best level” in terms of respect for the environment.
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