North Macedonia mining expansion opposition

Opposition from the SDSM party has intensified regarding the government’s new draft spatial planning plan, which proposes expanding mining activities in various regions of North Macedonia.

In eastern Macedonia, SDSM councilors in Probištip have raised concerns that the plan threatens public health, agriculture, and the environment. Specific objections include a proposed mine in the Kadiica mountain range within the protected Maleshevo area and a metal mine at Plavica, which critics claim could cause ecological catastrophe through groundwater pollution. Local leaders also warned that the plan could lead to significant population loss and social collapse in the Probištip municipality by 2040.

Expanding this opposition, SDSM leaders met with residents in the Bosilovo municipality to protest the proposed Ilovica-Stuka mine. Party officials characterized the Ministry of Environment’s spatial plan as a formal step toward activating mines in areas such as Kriva Palanka and Kozjuf. Opposition leaders have accused the administration of Hristijan Mickoski of attempting to sell off national land to serve business interests due to budgetary pressures.