Junta backtracks on major mining plans in protected region near Merida

THE Junta has assured Casares Town Hall that mining will not go ahead in the protected Sierra de la Utrera.

The Cultural department says the plans were a necessary part of the area’s petition for protected status and they expected no company to come forward with a proposal, and that if they did it would promptly be rejected.

Despite these assurances Casares mayor, Jose Carrasco said the town hall would remain ‘vigilant.’

The area is home to numerous protected sites including the celebrated Roman baths and the Villavieja settlement.