Miners and community members in Chiatura, Georgia, are mobilizing to resolve the crisis caused by Georgian Manganese, a company holding a monopoly over ore extraction in the region. The protests have brought together residents from Chiatura and nearby villages, demanding nationalization of mining operations, reinvestment of mining profits into public services—such as free public transport and a children’s support fund—and stricter control over open-pit mining.
Protesters have requested a meeting with the government and announced they would not engage with Georgian Manganese, associated with US-based Georgian American Alloys, citing the company’s consistent failure to address community needs and respect basic rights. Over the years, the firm has been repeatedly accused of violating labor rights and employing dangerous mining practices that pose long-term environmental and health risks. Reports document unsafe underground mining and poorly managed open-pit operations, both of which have led to pitfall formations and fatal incidents among residents.
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Chiatura has long been a mining and industrial hub, including during the Soviet period. Former miners recall that in the USSR, underground operations deemed too dangerous were shut down. In contrast, Georgian Manganese has pursued aggressive extraction methods, including mining underneath entire villages, which has led to the collapse of numerous homes. Additionally, its open-pit mining operations have caused soil degradation, illegal deforestation, and the destruction of local road infrastructure.
The people of the region have resisted the company’s actions for years. Recently, in 2024, villagers from Shukruti village staged picket lines in front of pits before taking their protest to the capital to denounce the destruction caused by Georgian Manganese. In retaliation, the company’s subcontractors filed lawsuits against over two dozen residents, attempting to silence their demands for compensation. Mine workers who participated in the protests were fired.
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In November 2024, Georgian Manganese announced a temporary freeze in operations, citing low global manganese prices and local protests as key factors. While the company initially promised to continue paying a part of workers’ salaries during the halt, employees report that wages for February remain unpaid. With approximately 6,000 people employed by the company in Chiatura and the nearby Zestaphoni municipality—where an alloy plant processes manganese from Chiatura—the impact of suspended operations and ongoing uncertainty has been devastating. Among other issues, workers and local trade unionists have reported that people are struggling to cover basic living expenses and housing costs due to the freeze in plant operations, while the logistics of the protests are being funded through donations.
Work was scheduled to resume on March 1, yet Georgian Manganese and its affiliated companies continued to claim that the mines were not profitable, causing delays. Despite these assertions, residents reported that the Zestaphoni plant had resumed operations and that open-pit mining activities even increased as the freeze neared its end. According to them, this suggests that Georgian Manganese and its associates are only trying to avoid responsibility for a significant portion of the workforce.
Since 2007, Georgian Manganese has held an exclusive 40-year license to exploit the region’s ore reserves. The company, linked to Israeli-Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, has faced long-standing allegations of environmental violations and inadequate workplace protections. In 2017, government oversight was imposed due to mismanagement, yet the company’s close ties to the political establishment enabled the devastation caused by the enterprise to continue.
As protests persist, the workers and inhabitants of Chiatura are raising their voices not only against Georgian Manganese—but also against unchecked corporate power. Whether the community’s demands will be heard remains to be seen, but the mobilization is already challenging long-standing structures of exploitation.
