The Chinese investor has withdrawn from the Muga mine initiative, which sparked the Cerdán scandal

In a significant turn of events, Geoalcali, a subsidiary of Australian parent company Highfield Resources, has lost a potential $300 million investment from Qinghai Salt Lake. This development comes as a blow to the Mina Muga project, a potash extraction site situated between Navarra and Aragon, which had obtained permits in 2021 from the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the Government of Aragon, and that of Navarra.

The non-binding agreement for the investment was announced by Geoalcali on May 10, 2022. However, three days before the resignation of Ignacio Salazar, the former CEO of Geoalcali, the company announced that the deal was off. As a result, the Mina Muga project is likely to seek new funding sources to continue its development.

The Mina Muga project first came to light in December 2015, when Geoalcali signed an agreement with the Temporary Union of Companies (UTE) composed of Acciona and Servinabar. The UTE, which may have had potential Santos Cerdán participations, was linked to the works in the Mina Muga project.

The alleged criminal organization led by former PSOE Organization Secretary Santos Cerdán, who combined his work in the PSN's Organization Secretariat and as a parliamentarian in the Autonomous Chamber at the time, is believed to have been operating in Navarra for years. An email sent by Pedro Antonio Rodriguez, the sole administrator of Geoalcali, on August 24, 2015, to Koldo Garcia, with whom Santos Cerdán and Alonso already had a relationship, stated that they consider Koldo Garcia as their "Eyes and Ears".

The Navarra Higher Court of Justice (TSJN) annulled the exploitation concession granted by the regional government in September 2024, following a complaint from Ecologistas en Acción, Sustrai Erakuntza, and the Platform against the Potash Mines in the Bal d'Onsella and El Perdón. Despite this, the Navarra president continued to promote the Mina Muga project as a "motor of economic and social development of the Foral Community".

The Guardia Civil is trying to unravel the hypothesis that the company union took advantage of Santos Cerdán's political influence. Gerard Bono, based in Bilbao, is leading the investigation.

The funds from Qinghai Salt Lake were intended for the development of the Muga Mine, among other projects, with Qinghai Salt Lake aiming to become the majority shareholder of Highfield. This latest setback is a significant one for the Mina Muga project, which has been paralyzed since late 2024 by the courts.

Geoalcali had sold this investment as a significant step in its "consolidation", coming a month before the press started to report on the UCO's report. However, the loss of the $300 million investment by Qinghai Salt Lake has put the company in a challenging position, and it remains to be seen how it will navigate this setback.