The Government stops the activity of the Australian mining company Berkeley in Spain after obtaining that its

Law on Climate Change and Ecological Transition

has passed the parliamentary process in Congress.

The latest version of the rule, which is now facing an express review in the Senate, includes an amendment that states that as of its entry into force "no new applications for the granting of exploration permits, research permits or direct exploitation concessions, nor their extensions [...] when such resources are extracted for their radioactive, fissile or fertile properties ".

In addition, he adds in a second point, new applications for authorization of radioactive facilities of the nuclear fuel cycle for the processing of these radioactive minerals will not be accepted either.

The literal nature of the law invalidates almost thirty of the research permits that the group has requested in Spain in addition to its large project to extract uranium in the Salamanca municipality of

Retortillo,

which strongly limits its activity and potential growth.

In relation to the mine, the sources consulted explain that the new Law will not affect the current processing process for its exploitation and processing of uranium, although the Government maintains its opposition to the project.

Yes, in the event that it receives the final approval from the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) and the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the new regulation restricts the activity of the mine to a maximum of 14 years of operation by preventing its extension.

The amendment was introduced jointly by the

PSOE and Podemos

parliamentary groups

,

although according to parliamentary sources consulted by EL MUNDO its drafting was directly supervised by the State Attorney.

The text replaces another amendment by the same groups that proposed the direct stoppage of the activity and suspended the licensing process undertaken by Berkeley in 2016. The company had already warned that its approval would have led to international arbitration between the parties close to

500 million euros,

so that with the step back the Executive maintains its pressure on the mine but for now avoids the lawsuit and the reputational impact that it could have suffered on large investors in the midst of the economic crisis.

The Australian group, which is listed on the stock market and has been riding a real roller coaster for months due to the uncertainty surrounding the concession, breathes relief because it believes that the new version of the Law will avoid its political suspension and will leave all decision-making power to the technicians.

And here, with 120 reports obtained in five years of bureaucratic work, they believe that their project will see the light despite the current reluctance.

At the moment, the process is stalled waiting for the

Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) to

decide whether or not to authorize the construction of the mine, a fundamental step for the process to advance and reach the table of Ribera itself. .

The latter will have to decide whether to grant it the operating license in the last resort.

The president of the regulator,

Josep María Serena,

explained last Monday in Congress that the process is progressing slowly due to the deficiency in the information sent by the company, which has motivated continuous requirements.

On the investment side, however, they suspect that the CSN is delaying the approval until the Climate Change Law is approved, in this case facilitating the No of

Pedro Sánchez's

Government

covered by the new regulation.

The tension is such that Serena himself has denounced pressure from the company and the

Herbert Smith Freehills

law firm

to accelerate a project that has been in the pipeline for five years.

The company assures that it has already made an investment of close to 94 million euros in the project and is only interested in knowing the real status of the procedure.

The Government of Spain, for its part, has already activated the General State Attorney for its potential defense.

This body has recently been recognized as one of the best arbitration teams in the world by JusMundi for the defense work of the country carried out against the dozens of international arbitrations received by Spain for the cut in premiums for renewable energy.

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