The Village of Shukruti is Being Destroyed by Manganese Mining: Consequences of Mining Operations and Residents' Protests

Protests in Shukruti, a mining village in the Imereti region, have been ongoing for six months. The unrest began back in 2019 when manganese mining near the village caused the first instances of ground subsidence and structural damage. In early September 2024, protesters declared a hunger strike and sewed their mouths shut, while the mining company denies any involvement in the destruction.

The Chiatura district hosts the largest manganese deposit in Georgia. Mining in the area has been conducted for nearly a century and a half, both underground and in open-pit mines. Two major mines are located in Shukruti and are owned by Georgian Manganese, one of the world's largest manganese producers.

Residents of Shukruti and other villages in the Chiatura district have been protesting against mining activities in the region since 2019. They claim that mining operations are causing their homes to collapse, wells to dry up, and orchards to stop bearing fruit. They are demanding compensation for the damages. Georgian Manganese denies that the destruction of the ground is linked to its activities.

A commission established by Georgian Manganese in 2021 concluded that the damage was caused by mining operations conducted near the village during the Soviet era. In the same year, the company agreed to pay compensation to Shukruti residents. However, according to the protesters, the agreements reached (the details of which are unknown) were not fulfilled, and the audit failed to reflect the actual damages. This led to the resumption of protests in March 2024.

According to local residents, around a dozen homes in Shukruti have collapsed in recent years, cracks have appeared in the ground, and the church, school, and cemetery are deteriorating. Dozens of families still remain in the village. "Our deceased are sinking into the ground, the church is collapsing, and the houses are in such a state that it’s physically dangerous to live in them," said Giorgi Bitsadze, a Shukruti resident and protester. Cracks are visible in the walls, and some structures have tilted.

In May 2024, the Georgian publication Business Press News asked the National Environmental Agency to comment on the ecological situation. The agency responded that it lacked the necessary expertise and referred the matter to the Mineral Resources Agency under the Ministry of Economy. However, in a bulletin published by the National Environmental Agency in June 2024, high risks of landslide activation in the Chiatura district — including Shukruti, Itkhvisi, and 12 other villages — were noted. Mining operations in the area were cited as a cause.

The residents of the village are demanding guarantees from Georgian Manganese or the government that if their homes collapse, they will be provided with alternative housing or compensation equivalent to the value of their current property. Meanwhile, miners are fighting for better working conditions and higher wages. To draw attention to the situation, several protesters have been living in a tent camp at the entrance to one of the mines since March 2024.

In early September, four activists who had been dismissed by Georgian Manganese sewed their mouths shut as a form of protest. “We are like refugees, in the truest sense of the word. We’ve taken an extreme measure — we sewed our mouths shut and are on a hunger strike to seek some justice and find someone who can help us,” said Giorgi Bitsadze. “We are ready to sacrifice ourselves for the truth because we have no other option. My friends and I are victims of discrimination; we were fired for protesting and for staying here. I have three children.”

“We’ve been protesting since day one when these issues began in 2019,” said Giorgi Neparidze, another protester. “This is our fifth attempt, and for the fifth time, we are living in tents with our families. From the beginning, we wanted the process to be transparent, but the company insists on keeping it behind closed doors, in isolated offices. The company should have engaged with the villagers at the start of the operations and explained the risks of reopening the mines [according to protesters, 13 mines that had been closed during the Soviet era were reopened in 2017].”

Georgian Manganese asserts that the terms of the agreement with Shukruti residents were not violated. According to the company, 99% of those who signed the agreement have already received compensation.