Mining companies believed to have found a treasure in Ciudad Real. Until the Iberian lynx appeared

In a video that is has viralized By networks you can see how two lynxes are disputing the territory to headers, a habitual practice between these felines. He Reelrecorded in Ciudad Real, shows how felines are returning to their natural habitat. In a turn of events, these animals have managed to stop attempts to extraction a company: giving them a legal header.

The exploitation. The “Neodimio Project” is an initiative of the Quantum mining company that seeks gray monacita in the province of Ciudad Real. From this rare land the neodymium is extracted, used in magnets of electric cars and wind turbines. The mining company has shown interest in exploring areas near Valdepeñas, Santa Cruz de Mudela and Torrenueva, areas to overcome the cat, According to the avant -garde.

Maybe there are no lynx … But there are people living in those areas that oppose mining. The “yes to the living land” platform has asked the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, to oppose the Rare Earth’s mining project, According to Cadena Ser. From the organization they have explained that it could have a devastating impact on local biodiversity and endanger the ecological corridors that the lynxs have begun to recover.

They do not stop in your search. Quantum’s story with Ciudad Real It has been more than a decade. After the failure of the “Matamulas” project, the company tries to return to the load. But time does not play in its favor: the citizen opposition has grown, water resources are increasingly scarce and the rural economic model (based on wine, oil and tourism) fears are affected. The controversy has also intensified for a complaint of the Seprona, which accuses the company of having done work without permission on a plot of Torrenueva, According to Castilla-La Mancha Media.

Legal header The Iberian lynx, in its reintroduction process in the region, has played a decisive role in this conflict. Although rare earth mining is seen as an economic opportunity in the context of the energy transition, efforts to preserve fauna and biodiversity have led to stop these projects. As have explained at the vanguardthe lynx is no longer just a conservation symbol, but an argument of weight in legal reports and protests. Its presence in areas such as the Montiel field has become an obstacle to mining companies that seek to exploit these natural resources.

It is not the only place. Although Ciudad Real is emerging as the area with the most potential for rare earths in Spain, it is not the only one. In different areas of the country we can find, as Galicia, Gran Canaria, Almería, Estremaduraamong other places. The fan that has been opened is very wide, but these deposits have in common not only the element, but their extraction seems to be complex.

For its part, the European Commission has not included the Quantum project in your list of strategic initiativeswhich means that it does not have the support of Brussels to continue its development.

Recovering spaces. The lynx has become a defender of its territory, interfering with projects that threaten their home. The struggle for the future of Ciudad Real is between the protection of biodiversity and the progress of mining, a dispute that reflects the dilemma between the need for natural resources and the conservation of ecosystems.

Image | Pexels and Diego Delso

Xataka | The rare earth war has arrived in Spain. And it is in Ciudad Real where mining and ecology are confronted