It is Euro Manganese Inc.’s clear objective that the Chvaletice Manganese Project be well integrated into its natural and social environment. For the success of our Project, it is crucial that we ensure that it fits well into the environment and lifestyle of local communities, and that we develop deep and enduring relationships with local residents.

 

Since day one, our team has been proactive in reaching out to local community members, governments and various organizations to develop a deep understanding of the local setting, both from an environmental and human perspective. By better understanding where we are working and with whom we will coexist, we can design and implement a better business plan. 

 

In February 2018, we inaugurated a Project Information Centre in Chvaletice’s municipal Culture House to serve as our project office and a key point of direct contact for local residents in the heart of the community. From this local base, we will expand and intensify a comprehensive community outreach and consultation program. Our goal here is to ensure that all stakeholders are given a meaningful opportunity to learn about EMN’s intentions and to allow community members to provide valuable input during the Project’s evaluation, planning and development phases. Our External Grievance Mechanism also enables stakeholders to register and get responses to grievances in a structured and time-bound manner.

 

The extensive technical studies and related activities planned and underway at the Project - as well as the potential construction and operation of this important tailings reprocessing and remediation facility - are expected to generate quality employment for the region’s residents over at least three decades. The reclamation and modern restoration of the Chvaletice tailings deposits are expected to become a positive long-term legacy for the region. 

 

Consultation with neighboring communities has been ongoing, and has over the past few years covered an increasingly broader area surrounding the Project site. In mid-2019, Trnavka and the other neighbouring municipality, Chvaletice, on which the Project tailings are located, voted unanimously to approve the initiation of the rezoning process of the lands underlying the Project’s tailings deposit under municipal land use plans. The Chvaletice Manganese Project continues to receive strong support from the state and from local communities and residents.

 

The permitting process for the Project continues to build on five years of meaningful and constructive engagement with governments, regulatory agencies and local communities. The Company has benefitted from ongoing collaboration and support for the Project at various levels of the Czech Government, who approved the Company’s application for investment tax credits on eligible project expenditures, and, in March 2020, issued a ruling under European Union’s Natura 2000, which determined that the Chvaletice Manganese Project is not expected to adversely impact endangered and protected species habitat.

 

Current permitting work is focused on producing a Final Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the Project. Completing the assessment is the next step in the permitting process, following the successful initial public screening procedure of the Project’s Preliminary EIA by the Czech Ministry of the Environment in late 2020.

 

As part of its stakeholder engagement work, the Project has hosted ten major public presentations for seven local villages, conducted numerous site tours of the Project site for local civic leaders and residents, and presented the project to many small groups and individuals, including regional and civic permitting authorities, mayors, municipal boards and local schools. Based on the outcomes of these intensive community consultations and the initial Ministry of the Environment screening procedure, the Project has been well-accepted by stakeholders, with no critical concerns.

 

“The Project has received all necessary regulatory, permitting and tenure approvals to date in an expeditious way,” says Jan Votava, Managing Director of EMN’s Czech operation. “We appreciate the support and professionalism of the Czech Government and regulatory authorities, and the collaborative and respectful attitude of local communities.”

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Local groundwater has long been contaminated by the existing Chvaletice tailings deposits, which leach metals and salts into the underlying aquifer. Regulatory bodies that participated in the initial screening procedure have viewed the Project positively because it is designed to eliminate the longstanding source of water pollution and restore the site back to a more natural state.

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Water management is an essential part of the project design. A comprehensive groundwater monitoring program has been in place since 2017 to establish benchmark data on the extent of the contamination. To date, 25 monitoring wells have been drilled, and the water is tested monthly. The Company is targeting the use of only recycled, contaminated and waste water in its production process.