Over 200 representatives of the local business community came together at the historic Fonseca Cathedral on June 13th to show their support for Berkeley’s Salamanca Project.

Representatives of local businesses, contractors, suppliers, and heads of local business associations stayed long into the evening discussing how they could help support the mine development.

Berkeley is one of the largest investors in Castilla y León which has lost over 100,000 people over the last five years

The local villages of Retortillo and Villavieja de Yeltes have seen their population decline by 30% in the last 20 years.

Speaking from the lectern in the 16th Century marbled hall Paul Atherley, CEO and Managing Director, commented:

“We are thrilled with the continued support we are receiving for our project. We’re investing a quarter of a billion euros and creating 2,500 direct and indirect jobs for which we have already had nearly 23,000 fully documented applications.

We understand that last year, the population in Castilla y Leon fell by over 21,000 people. Our belief is that if young people can stay and build careers that are created by economic development such as ours, they will get married and hopefully have families which will rejuvenate the once-thriving local villages.

Our support for this region goes beyond just job creation, we preferentially choose local businesses, ensuring that the benefit of our investment and the hard work of our employees stays within the community as much as is possible.”

Click here to read the full speech from the evening.