Tungsten mine in A Gudiña threatens the Rabaçal river and Montesinho Natural Park

Just a few kilometres from the Portuguese border, in Pentes, in the municipality of A Gudiña, in the Galician province of Ourense, the company Tungsten San Juan, a subsidiary of Sweden's Eurobattery Minerals, is preparing an open-pit tungsten mine, with production expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 and reserves estimated at 60,000 tonnes. The mine sits about 100 metres from the Ribeira de Pente stream, which flows into the Rabaçal river in Vinhais, Bragança district, supplying water to fourteen Portuguese villages inside Montesinho Natural Park.

Movimento UIVO, based in Vinhais, says the cross-border environmental impact assessment required under the Espoo Convention has never been carried out, even though the European Commission confirmed the obligation in July 2026. On 23 July, around 40 Portuguese and Galician environmentalists and local officials, including members of Ecoloxistas en Acción, gathered outside the church of San Martiño in A Gudiña to demand the assessment and delivered a letter to the Spanish municipality's mayor.

Meanwhile, a court in Santiago de Compostela opened an investigation into the 30-year extension of the mining concession, following a complaint from Ecoloxistas en Acción. Parish officials in Vinhais say residents have stopped drinking tap water for fear of contamination, and the Portuguese government admits it has never been consulted by Spain about the project's impacts on national territory.