The commission for the analysis of the concession contract for the reopening of the Brskovo mine near Mojkovac yesterday adopted the conclusion by the majority of votes that the concessionaire "Brskovo Mine" is no longer extended the concession issued in 2010, for which the deadlines have been changed six times so far.
According to "Vijesti" information, representatives of state institutions, the Office of the Protector of State Property and Legal Interests, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Institute for Public Health, the Geological Survey, the ministries of energy and mining and ecology, as well as representatives of the non-governmental sector, voted against extending the concession.
Two representatives of the concessionaire were in favor of extending the concession, while the representative of the Ministry of Finance abstained with the explanation that they could not analyze the potential damage to the state if the concession is terminated and the concessionaire sues the state for compensation.
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The adopted conclusion, along with separate opinions of concessionaire representatives, was forwarded to the Minister of Energy and Mining Saša Mujović, who formed a working group. The final decision on the fate of the concession will be made by the Government.
Members of the working group yesterday pledged not to disclose the details of the meeting to the public until the final decision.
The representative of the concessionaire, lawyer Luka Popović, when asked by "Vijesti" to comment on the decision, said that they agreed at the working group not to make anything official public until the proposal is officially sent to the Government by the relevant minister.
Representatives of concessionaires previously mentioned the possibility of initiating arbitration for compensation from the state in case the concession is terminated.
The working group had 11 meetings where various aspects of the concession contract and its six annexes were discussed, as well as the environmental and economic consequences that would arise from the eventual operation of the future mine.
The position of the Office of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro is that the state has a legal basis and that it should terminate the concession contract with the company "Brskovo Mine". The protector bases his position on the annex four of the contract, in which the concessionaire agreed to bear the risk if the spatial planning documentation is not adopted and if urban-technical conditions (UTU) are not issued, as well as that the deadline for obtaining the UTU from the last annex of the contract has expired July 25 last year.
Attorney Popović then said that it was an ambiguity in the contract to the detriment of the concessionaire, but that he believes that there must be a breach of the contract by the concessionaire in order for the state to terminate the contract to its detriment.
Biologist Dr. Snežana Dragićević stated that there are over a hundred protected species of plants, animals and fungi in the concession area of the Brskovo mine, and that 217 hectares of forest are planned to be felled. There are complaints that the documentation hides the fact that there is dangerous mercury in the ore, as well as that Montenegro does not have a landfill for the adequate disposal of such dangerous substances.
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