[Translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

'Earthquake or waste' from lead mine blamed for river pollution in central Bosnia, 30 May 2024

...[T]he Ministry of Environment in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is expected to decide on an environmental permit for a mine in central Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which local authorities have blamed for polluting an important water source, Radio Free Europe (RFE) was told.

According to local authorities, in the same part of the river that was polluted is the "Zeleni vir" spring, which the citizens of Olovo use for drinking.

Authorities say the river has been polluted twice in a year and a half...

In a water analysis last year, a report submitted to the Olovo Municipality stated that "a concentration of lead 33 times higher than the permitted level" was recorded...

The Municipality of Olovo has requested that the competent institutions in the Federation of BiH, which are responsible for the environment, adopt measures for the mine in this municipality, as well as to inform the public about the possible health risks of using water from the Bioštica and Krivaja rivers...

The lead mine in Olovo complies with the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the highest European standards, the mine's management told RFE/RL. They claim they are not responsible for the pollution of the Bioštica River, which occurred on May 11th.

They point out that "no changes have been observed in terms of soil subsidence, loss of process water or sludge at the tailings dump". They note that the mine uses a "closed water system" in the ore processing process, meaning that "no water is discharged into the free surface stream"...