Furtei, Italia

2024

When I was in Sardegna researching local high-fire clay deposits, I was struck by the satellite maps of the area around Furtei, and the presence of several deep black lakes. What are they? If “Sembra presa quasi dalle cronache coloniali” it’s because this is extractive capitalism at its finest, nothing more, nothing less.

From 1997 to 2008 the Sardinian Gold Mining (which was Australian at the beginning, then Canadian, but 10% of the quotes were owned by the regione) extracted 5 tons of gold and 6 of silver from Furtei, grinding around 530 hectares of land. Sodium cyanide was used to separate the gold from the rest of the rock.

After funnelling abroad around 80 million euro of profits, the company declared bankruptcy in 2009, and left in a rush leaving their 47 workers without jobs.

They also forgot behind a few lakes of poisoned water, which, still now 15 years later, are at risk of leaking to the agricultural and inhabited land just below, a few decapitated hills, and an estimated 140 million euro of environmental damages that are now needed to clean and secure the area. All of which will have to be paid with public money.

They took the gold, and conveniently forgot a few lakes of cyanide behind.

Ref.

https://gruppodinterventogiuridicoweb.com/2018/04/12/mucche-al-pascolo-sul-lago-dei-veleni-a-furtei/

https://www.mindat.org/locentry-365525.html

Sogni d’oro a Furtei https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X2gmKYnvCZg

Miniera di Furtei, la Sardegna avvelenata per un pugno d’oro

https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/sassari/cronaca/2017/12/23/news/miniera-di-furtei-la-sardegna-avvelenata-per-un-pugno-d-oro-1.16274148#:~:text=Piccoli%20frammenti%20nascosti%20tra%20le,di%2080%20milioni%20di%20euro.

La Miniera di Furtei al Tg3 Leonardo https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BmGJmbrR8ZU

Sardegna, I veleni di Furtei https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GRokAmQvAlY