15 March 2024

Residents of Shukruti, in western Georgia, set up a tent outside the mine entrance...the latest in a series of protests against mining company Georgian Manganese.

The land in and around Shukruti began to collapse in 2019, with Georgian Manganese initially denying any connection to the mines running beneath.

Protests by residents of Shukruti culminated in a 30-day hunger strike in 2021, during which several residents sewed their lips shut to demand compensation for the damage to their homes.

While Georgian Manganese struck a deal with the residents to end their protest in June 2021, residents of Shukruti now say the company has not delivered on its promise to fully compensate them...

The protesters also demand that experts assess whether Shukruti and its buildings were habitable and safe after years of intensive manganese mining under the village...

In 2022, around 20 houses collapsed and many other buildings were damaged in Itkhvisi. Many in Itkhvisi have refused to leave their homes, despite a government audit warning that over 100 houses had become too dangerous to live in...

...Georgian Manganese claimed to have fully compensated the residents of Shukruti, dismissing those protesting as a ‘radical group […] trying to mislead the public’...

However, many of those who have received compensation say the company was underpaying even on what they had previously promised...

Others in Shukruti have also warned that the constant mining under the village has contributed to polluting their crops...