On 27 and 28 April 2026, public consultation meetings were held on the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA Report) for Tintyava Exploration AD’s investment proposal to develop the Rozino deposit within the Tintyava area, Municipality of Ivaylovgrad. The consultations provided a clear and documented answer to the question of what the actual position is of the people who live in the affected area.
Scope and Organisation of the Consultations
The public consultations were conducted in full compliance with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act and the Ordinance on the Terms and Procedures for Carrying Out Environmental Impact Assessments. All notification deadlines were observed, public access was provided to the EIA Report and its appendices, and interested parties were given the opportunity to submit written opinions.
On 27 April 2026, the meetings were held consecutively in the directly affected settlements—the villages of Rozino, Konnitsi, Gugutka, and Byal Gradets. On 28 April 2026, the consultation process continued in the town of Ivaylovgrad, in the hall of the Probuda 1914 Community Centre.
Each meeting was attended by representatives of the investor, the lead expert and members of the specialist team that prepared the EIA Report, representatives of the competent authorities, local residents, and representatives of non-governmental organisations. All questions raised—including those concerning water resources, air quality, mining waste management, land rehabilitation, and financial guarantees—were answered by the relevant experts present at the meetings.
Not a Single Local Resident Spoke Against the Project
The most significant fact emerging from the official minutes of the public consultations is the following: at none of the meetings—neither in the four affected villages on 27 April nor in the town of Ivaylovgrad on 28 April—was any statement opposing the implementation of the project made by a resident of the Municipality of Ivaylovgrad.
The statements made by local residents were either supportive of the investment proposal or took the form of specific questions regarding the project’s technical parameters, employment opportunities, water supply, and control measures. These questions were answered during the meetings themselves.
The objections to the project were raised by representatives of non-governmental organisations whose activities are not connected with permanent residence or everyday life in the affected area.
For Tintyava Exploration AD, this outcome is significant far beyond the procedural aspect. A public consultation is the point at which every resident of the affected area has a legally guaranteed right to express disagreement publicly, freely, and without consequences. The fact that no local resident exercised this right in order to oppose the project is the clearest possible indication of the level of trust that the local community has in the investor and in the way the company has conducted its dialogue with residents over recent years.
The “Future for Ivaylovgrad” Initiative Committee: Nearly 1,200 Signatures in Support
Support from the local community was not limited to the consultation halls. A local initiative committee, “Future for Ivaylovgrad”, was established in support of the project—a civic organisation created at the initiative of residents of the municipality themselves.
The initiative committee prepared and submitted a positive opinion in support of the investment proposal, backed by the signatures of nearly 1,200 residents of the Municipality of Ivaylovgrad.
The scale of this document should be assessed in the context of the municipality’s demographic profile. Nearly 1,200 signatures from residents of the Ivaylovgrad area represent an exceptionally high proportion of the active local population—a level of civic mobilisation in support of an industrial project that has no equivalent in the recent history of the region.
The conclusion is unequivocal: the people who live in the area and who will directly experience both the benefits and any potential impacts of the project support it.
The Investor’s Position: Dialogue, Not Confrontation
Tintyava Exploration AD regards critical opinions as a normal and legitimate part of the EIA procedure. The company has analysed every objection submitted and has provided reasoned responses addressing the substance of each concern.
However, the company notes that a significant proportion of the objections do not call for stricter conditions, additional monitoring, or specific technical adjustments, but instead demand an unconditional ban on the project—regardless of its compliance with Bulgarian and European legislation.
Experience in Bulgaria demonstrates that an alternative approach is possible. The operating Ada Tepe mine near Krumovgrad—developed in a similar geological and social environment in the Eastern Rhodopes—has shown that modern mining can coexist with a preserved natural environment and tangible local economic development when it is designed according to the best available techniques and subjected to continuous independent oversight.
Tintyava Exploration AD reaffirms its commitment to implementing the Rozino Project using the best available techniques, ensuring full transparency of monitoring data, and providing all legally required financial guarantees for land rehabilitation and post-closure monitoring.
The Importance of the Project for the Region
The Rozino Project is one of the most significant industrial investments planned in the Haskovo Region. It is expected to create permanent direct employment opportunities for local residents, generate revenue for the municipal budget through concession payments and taxes, and produce a multiplier effect for local businesses, services, and infrastructure.
The project is also aligned with the European Union’s strategic framework for critical and strategic raw materials, which identifies the development of domestic extraction capacity within Member States as one of the priorities for Europe’s economic and geopolitical resilience.
Conclusion
After decades of depopulation, limited private investment, and a steadily narrowing economic outlook, the Municipality of Ivaylovgrad is being presented with a genuine opportunity for development. The public consultations held on 27 and 28 April 2026, together with the nearly 1,200 signatures in support, demonstrated that the local community recognises this opportunity and wishes to make use of it.
Tintyava Exploration AD thanks all residents of the Municipality of Ivaylovgrad who took part in the consultations, asked questions, and expressed their views. The company will continue to work in close cooperation with the local community, the competent authorities, and the expert community—with a clear understanding that sustainable mining is built on trust, and that trust must be earned through actions.
During the public consultation on the Rozino Project in the village of Gugutka on 27 April 2026.
During the public consultation on the Rozino Project at the Probuda 1914 Community Centre in Ivaylovgrad on 28 April 2026.
During the public consultation on the Rozino Project in the village of Konnitsi on 27 April 2026.
During the public consultation on the Rozino Project in the village of Rozino on 27 April 2026.