Sulcis, 80 million for the reclamation of the San Giorgio mining valley

Eighty million euro to remove the waste from over one hundred years of mining operations from what is known as the valley of poisons. In Iglesias, in south-western Sardinia, the municipal administration will be in charge of the reclamation and rehabilitation of the areas affected by mining activity thanks to the use of European resources provided by the Just transition fund. This is a part of the plan that, in total, is worth more than one billion and includes resources for Sulcis Iglesiente and Taranto. The first project that will benefit from this financial endowment is precisely the programme for the reclamation and rehabilitation of the area known as the Rio San Giorgio valley. A place located on the outskirts of the city of Iglesias, where, over the years, waste and residues from mining operations at the Monteponi and Campo Pisano sites have accumulated. The plan calls for the removal of about one million cubic metres of waste inherited from industrial processing that began in the mid-1800s and continued until 1998 when publicly controlled companies decided to stop extracting galena and blende, the minerals from which lead and zinc are obtained.

The main contaminants present in mining residues and soils are arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead and zinc. In the vast area there is special waste related to the second phase of mining activity. The financed work is considered the most important in terms of reclamation because it affects both underground and surface watercourses, not to mention houses along the road and the watercourse that reaches the sea. A few days ago, the Region announced the allocation of the first resources. That is, 80 million for Iglesias and about two million for projects concerning the Portovesme industrial area. For Mauro Usai, mayor of Iglesias, this is an important step. 'With this intervention,' he says, 'it will be possible to start the reclamation plan for the contaminated areas of the city and to give rise to the reconversion process of the degraded areas and thus think about a new use.