One day before the licenses issued for the exploration and extraction of manganese on 1.5 million square meters in Shkmeri were to be revoked, the government amended the decrees, allowing the licensee to retain the right to excavate in Shkmeri. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze made this decision secretly from the population. Giorgi Ninikashvili, the head of the licensing companies, is a recidivist, having been convicted three times, including for illegally mining ore in Chiatura, which caused land degradation, and damage to human health and the environment.
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Both government decrees are dated July 8, 2024. Based on these decrees, the three-year period specified for MN North LLC and Technology 2021 LLC to prepare reports on mineral reserves and submit them to the relevant authority was extended to six years. Preparing these reports and having them approved by the National Agency of Mineral Resources is a necessary prerequisite for starting manganese mining. The deadline for fulfilling this condition for both licensee companies was July 9, 2024. Neither MN North nor Technology 2021 LLC has submitted such a report to the Mineral Resources Agency.
"Failure to comply with the conditions is the basis for fines. After being fined three times, the agency should cancel the licenses," Nino Gujaraidze, coordinator of the environmental justice program of Green Alternative, told Mtis ambebi.
Another important detail is that July 9, 2024, is indicated as the date of registration for the licenses issued to MN North and Technology 2021 in the license register. In fact, the licenses were issued on July 9, 2021, for a period of 10 years.
The only activity the licensee undertook in Shkmer was the illegal extraction of 540 tons of manganese ore in October 2021. After a complaint from the non-governmental organization Green Alternative, Technology 2021 LLC was issued an administrative violation protocol, and due to environmental damage, the Environmental Supervision Department transferred the case to the district prosecutor's office. We have requested information from the relevant agencies about how the administrative case against Technology 2021 ended in the Oni Magistrate's Court and the criminal case in the Prosecutor's Office, and we will provide the reader with the answer as soon as we receive it. Local residents also held several protests demanding the cancellation of the licenses issued for manganese mining in Shkmeri.
Both licenses have been appealed to the court by Green Alternative, the Social Justice Center, and Shkmeri resident Goga Gagnidze due to numerous violations of the law.
The lawsuit has been pending for more than two years, and Judge Liela Poladishvili has not even scheduled the first hearing.
MN North and Technology 2021 were founded on July 5, 2021, two days before the sale of manganese exploration and mining licenses in Shkmeri. Both companies have the same director, Giorgi Ninikashvili. Currently, the largest (66.5%) owner of both shares is Mamuka Dalakishvili. Officially, he bought these shares from Giorgi Zhamutashvili on February 7 of this year. The purchase price is considered a commercial secret. Based on information provided by various sources, Mamuka Dalakishvili is a confidant of Giorgi Kapanadze (also known as Rizha), the Georgian shareholder of Georgian Manganese. He is also the actual manager of the Chiatura Multifunctional Center, established by the same company.
It is worth noting that before the government issued the licenses for manganese exploration and mining in Shkmeri, the prosecutor's office began an investigation five months earlier into fraudulent land acquisitions and official fraud. Five locals were charged. Under pressure to avoid prison, the defendants agreed to a plea deal, admitting to their crimes. Their land was confiscated, and they received light sentences.
Mtis Ambebi discovered that Irakli Nozadze filed the complaint with the prosecutor's office. He is the Director of Environmental Protection for Georgian Manganese. Since 2007, Georgian Manganese has held a 40-year license for manganese mining on 16,430 hectares in the territories of Chiatura and Sachkhere. As a result of the company's uncontrolled activities, an ecological disaster has been created in the municipality of Chiatura.
