This crucial administrative step, published in the Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía (BOJA), pertains to the future exploitation located between the municipalities of Puebla de Guzmán and Paymogo. A 30-working-day period has been opened for citizens, groups, and administrations to submit allegations.

The agreement, issued by the Territorial Delegation of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy in Huelva on May 8, formally marks the beginning of a key phase for the development of an initiative poised to become one of the province's major mining projects in the coming years.

The Iberian Belt West (IBW) project, promoted by Emerita Resources España, integrates three polymetallic deposits: La Romanera, La Infanta, and El Cura. These are distributed along a 12-kilometer strip in the westernmost part of the Iberian Pyrite Belt, near the Portuguese border.

La Romanera stands out as the central deposit of the project due to its size and extractive potential. The initiative involves an investment exceeding 300 million euros and the creation of approximately 300 direct jobs, in addition to over a thousand indirect and induced positions. This represents a significant opportunity for one of the province's areas facing greater socioeconomic difficulties and depopulation issues.

The exploitation will primarily focus on zinc extraction, although the deposit also holds significant resources of copper, lead, silver, and gold. These minerals are considered strategic in the current context of energy transition and the growing European demand for critical raw materials.

The opening of the public information process has been positively received by the involved municipalities, which see the project as an opportunity for economic revitalization in the western Andévalo. The Puebla de Guzmán Town Council has also described the start of the public exhibition as a relevant milestone for the project to become a reality.