Unbeknown to the world and away from the glares of cameras a quiet environmental uprising is taking place in one of the farthest corners of Spain. It is a complex story of energy insecurity, global conflicts and popular resistance; all played out in a remote valley surrounding the Sierra de Gata mountains in far-western Spain.

Situated in the sparsely populated region of Spain’s outlying province Extremadura, Torre de Don Miguel boasts an ancient lineage. The village of some four hundred, inhabitants, it overlooks an Arab-era watch tower and is situated in the foregrounds of old abandoned mines.

Long regarded as an area of outstanding natural beauty made of rugged unspoilt terrain and natural habitat for scores of endangered floras and fauna, the region has come under the greedy scrutiny of global mining giants. It appears it contains large deposits of strategic mineral deposits in its subsoil such as lithium, cobalt, tungsten, nickel, wolfram and other rare earths. Now there is an urgent rush to extract these vital minerals.

Torre de Don Miguel falls under the Spanish government’s plans to map out the country’s mineral resources with a particular focus on key raw materials as part of a broader plan to boost production and management of minerals key to the green transition.

While Spain eyes boom in ‘neglected’ strategic mining sector, it has generated a new wave of political activism in the region. People are slowly revolting against this venture.

Geostrategic imbalance and energy self-sufficiency 

This quiet resistance in a remote part of Spain is intimately linked to the larger issue of troubling global security environment. Interestingly, this sudden surge in mining exploration activities in Extremadura is guided by three key external developments.

First, the ongoing disastrous war in Ukraine has made Europeans feel tad bid insecure about their future. Added to this is the big question mark over China’s intentions regarding global alternative energy security.

Second, there is a steady rush in Europe, now, to beef up national security needs. Following the US president Donald Trump’s repeated demands that Europe or for that matter countries like Spain must shoulder their own security needs. European nations have rushed to strengthen their armed forces in recent months, following Trump’s repeated demands that Europe must shoulder more responsibility for its security.

Consequently, the European Commission has identified 17 critical raw materials for the European economy, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, gallium, boron, titanium, and tungsten, all of which are essential for sectors such as wind energy, battery production, and defence. These rare-earth minerals are critical to the high-tech society we live in and indispensable to our daily day to day life. But increasing demand and limited global supply means countries are urgently trying to find a way to extract these minerals fast.

Europe is also trying hard to offset the challenges arising out of the import of rare earth materials by reaching out to the exporting countries. In early July, “The European Union’s foreign policy chief has urged China to end restrictions on the export of rare earth elements.” Moreover, Kaja Kallas after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Brussels has stressed that Chinese firms’ tacit support for Russian Federation’s war in the Ukraine seriously undermines European security and can have an adverse effect on their bilateral relations.

Third, the European Union is anxious to turbocharge production of critical mineral resources such as cobalt, tungsten, lithium and other rare earths to power the electric cars, mobile phones and other sixth generation technologies. The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) targets that by 2030 the bloc will mine 10% of its requirements for strategic minerals, process 40%, and meet 25% of demand from recycling. As a collective, European Union wants to revive its mining industry to secure the rare-earth elements needed for strategic self-sufficiency and a green future.

To put things in perspective, Spain, as is the case with other members of the EU, is a major consumer of rare earth elements and other critical raw minerals but is dependent on others to obtain them.

The overall objective of Spain, in terms of renewable energy self-sufficiency sits neatly with that of the European Union. As an autonomous country as well as a part of the political and economic collective, both Spain and the European Union are very keen to reduce their dependence on external suppliers, for these minerals, particularly on China, which dominates much of the market for renewable energy equipment.

Environmental hazards

Attempts to reopen old mines to address Spain’s new mineral needs sits directly in opposition to its earlier stated position. In recent years, in some of Spain’s old mining operations, major environmental measures have been taken to recover the landscape after the mine was closed and abandoned a. The most recent attempt to reopen those old mines for strategic sufficiency, risks undermining the way of life, natural habitat and the overall eco system.

Alejandra Espanol, of Torre de Don Miguel, a retired schoolteacher made this hamlet her home after leaving Madrid decades earlier, precisely for the rich uncontaminated environment of the region. She only drinks the water from the village fountain that is carried from the mountain top and the treelines above by a network canal dug up centuries earlier. In fact, a great majority of the inhabitants of this quaint village use this water for their daily consumption. They fear once the mines are reopened their ground water will certainly be contaminated and bring a spell of disaster for their way of life. 

While this is a genuine concern for the villagers of Torre de Don Miguel and people in the Sierra de Gata region, the government finds the needs of these small communities dispensable for the greater good of the Spanish state. According to one surveyor of the new mining project, who wished to be remained anonymous, while the government in Madrid is aware of the devastating effect such projects will have on such rural communities in general and the environment in particular, it is determined to go ahead with such projects based on its utilitarian objectives where the interest of a few are sacrificed for the greater good.

Development vs. lifestyle dilemma

The Sierra de Gata region in the province of Caceres is an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is one of the last undisturbed habitats of the endangered Iberian lynx. Hundreds of thousands of Siberian cranes and other migratory birds from the Arctic, flock to its lakes and meadows during high winter. It is a bird watcher’s paradise.

For Angel Rivero, a long-time resident of the village, and a professor political philosophy in the Autonomous University of Madrid, “while the need for Spain’s energy security is paramount, it should not be at the cost of destroying few remaining pockets of unspoilt terrain.” 

Thanks to its remoteness and the virgin environment the region sees a steady flow of tourists from the rest of Europe all through the year. Being one of the poorest parts of Spain, tourism is a lifeline for many of the local inhabitants. In view of Maria Jesus, the Director of the Tourism Board in Torre de Don Miguel, who has spent decades highlighting the region’s virgin nature and worked tirelessly for its protection, the reopening of mines will spell catastrophe for everyone.

In her view, unlike many other rural communities throughout Spain, “the Sierra de Gata region has not “died” because of its self-reliant sustainable communities. The land and the unspoilt nature have enabled the basic livelihood for many and has thus prevented out-migration.” Curiously, it is one of the most successful parts in Spain in terms of retaining the younger population in their traditional homeland and homesteads. While the mines may provide some job opportunities, it will do more harm than good for the people of Sierra de Gata. 

La Espana Vaciada or the empty Spain

Long used to a frugal and sustainable way of life majority of the region’s inhabitants are not persuaded by the logic of the mining-led economic development trajectory. The pro-mining argument that people want fast and next generation technology but are not prepared to consider their traditional lands for exploration of minerals needed for these technologies is lost on people of Torre de Don Miguel.

A predominantly rural population with little dependence on cutting edge technology or ultra-modern lifestyle, to the great majority of the inhabitants of the Sierra Gata region, they have no desire for access to new wealth and greater purchasing power. They appear happy with what they already have. This lifestyle and worldview, however, has not led to the retreating of the threatening clouds on mining and mineral extraction in their native lands.

As examples from many other similar cases, from elsewhere in the world demonstrate, in the end, such environmental concerns and the voices of rural communities will be drowned by the needs of the nation. Should this happen to Torre de Don Miguel in Sierra de Gata, this will be a tragedy of irreparable proportion. This truly a case of confrontation of local versus global in a faraway corner of Spain.

[Photo by Manuel RB/Pixabay]

Amalendu Misra is a professor of international politics in the School of Global Affairs, Lancaster University, United Kingdom. He’s on X (formerly Twitter) @MisraAmalendu. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.