MADRID — Spanish authorities are seeking 90 million euros in damages from a Swedish mining company for a major toxic spill near the famed Doñana National Park in 1998.
Makeshift dikes kept the liquid and mud from flowing into the nearby Doñana National Park, but a vast area near the mine was inundated with toxic sludge containing traces of zinc, iron and other heavy metals. Thousands of fish and birds were killed.The trial will hear testimony from 12 witnesses and three experts and is expected to conclude July 13, court officials said.
Boliden claims it had been authorized to increase the size of the reservoir at Aznalcóllar before the walls broke, and that it later voluntarily cleaned up at a cost of some 80 million euros. “In addition, Doñana remained completely unaffected by the accident, which was of course very important. The financial disagreement between Boliden and the region will now be tried, which we welcome, not least since the accident happened 25 years ago.”