Europe's biggest gold mine holds 30 tonnes of the precious metal waiting to be unearthed

Europe's biggest mine remains untouched despite holding 30 tonnes of precious metal.

It is hidden under the Salave Lagoon in Asturias, , and has been known since the first century but has gone unexploited.

The 30 tonnes of gold beneath the surface in Tapia de Casariego are equivalent to just 10% of the Bank of .

Several private companies have been interested in mining , but none of the projects that have been presented have been well received. Almost 500 boreholes have been drilled, and 72,000 metres have been explored.

Local residents are unable to reach an agreement and give the go-ahead for work to extract the gold. Explotaciones Mineras del Cantábrico currently holds the mining rights, and the project is in the environmental processing phase.

The company plans to invest more than 100 million euros and create 200 direct jobs and more than 1,000 indirect jobs over the next 15 years. It is estimated that the profit could be 140 million euros.

Director José Manuel Domínguez has said that the project will not interfere with the life of the town. He said this project "is an underground mine with covered access in an industrial area on the outskirts of the town".

Domínguez added that all the facilities required on the surface, such as offices, changing rooms, and various processing plants, will be enclosed in industrial warehouses for this purpose.

Daniel is one of the neighbours who is against gold mining. He belongs to the Oro No platform and has read in detail the more than 5,000 pages of the project.

He believes it is an illegal project from an environmental, technical and urban planning point of view. Daniel argues there are already several gold mines in Asturias that are not complying with the law and the risks are too high.

"The discharges that would be made into the sea through underwater markets, impacting fishing; the heavy metals that would come to light when excavating the earth, impacting livestock farming."

Mada, however, is in favour of the exploitation of this mine. He is a member of the Association for Reindustrialisation and Doia.

He believes the project is guaranteed due to backing from technicians, expert associations, and the University of Oviedo. He also hopes it can stop young people from leaving the area.

Juan José Ferrán de Díaz, dean and president of the Official College of Mining Engineers of northwestern Spain, supports this project.

He said that though "all exploitation, all human activity has a negative impact, depending on how you look at it", in this specific case, "the benefits far outweigh the possible drawbacks"