The crossroads is Pranu 'e sanguini. On one hand the mysteries of the universe, beyond infinity, on the other the deepest secrets, those of the bowels of the earth. The telephone signal is feeble, entering these scorching headlands is like venturing into an unexplored Klondaike, almost at the end of the world. On the side of the road you don't see a living being even if you rely on your imagination. The "climbers" of Gerrei have chosen the soft shade that stands out under the oaks, shepherds not even on the horizon. The hairpin bends that creep into the elevations of the mountains that belonged to Emilio Lussu are worn out by time and by failures forgotten by man and by the Province of Southern Sardinia. The fat grass on the plateau between San Basilio and Silius is reddish, as if it were an exclusive directional sign.

Infinity and depth

On the left the giant ear, the one that listens to the mysteries of the Universe, the Sardinia Radio Telescope, the largest and most technologically advanced Radio Telescope ever built in Italy, second in the world in size. When you find it in front of you in this desolate and abandoned land you can also think you are at the center of Creation, even if few have noticed it. Leaving the horizon of the cyclopean parabola, one sees a skyline barely violated by a few wind turbines, but still essentially intact. Only a few kilometers further on, surrounded by shrubs and scrub, oaks and lentisks, you can see the "castle" of Muscadroxiu, a rusty iron scaffolding that for a lifetime made people go up and down towards the depths of the earth, in the secrets of the Mine of “Genna Tres Monti”. The signpost is almost touristic, abraded by the sun, irreparably rendered illegible in the name of the old company, the last one, the one that governed the ancient mine of Silius. From then until today, the signs of time have carved the memory of a population of miners, forced almost six hundred meters underground to rummage through the somersaults of the earth's crust, in search of veins of precious minerals.

The “pulp” trick

Over the centuries they had to settle for Fluorite and Barite, Quartz-Calcite with lead, zinc, silver and copper sulphides. Many have done business on their skin, starting with Fluorite. They, the miners of this forgotten land, had to barricade themselves continuously at the bottom of the wells to defend a modest loaf of bread. As often happens in deep tunnels, the predators on duty empty the "pulp" of the mine, rob the richest veins, leaving behind only rubble and unemployment. It was no different for Silius. The mining epic was consummated up to the final decree: mining concession concluded. The Region, as has often happened, instead of enhancing the island's immense heritage, has always had to take charge of making the plants safe and more often than not of the very expensive mining reclamations themselves.

bottomless pit

The bottomless pit was dumped on public coffers, after the private ones had been abundantly filled. The Genna Tres Montis mine seemed dead and buried, despite a 2012 tender for its reactivation. The "truthful" text, the one in the public records, reads: "Call for the presentation of project proposals aimed at issuing the concession for the reactivation for production purposes of the mine called "Genna Tres Montis" for minerals of Fluoro, Lead, Zinc, Silver and Barite in the territory of the municipalities of Silius and San Basilio with a mineral treatment plant in the municipality of Assemini».

Posthumous “Manina”.

In that announcement, however, no mention of "Terre Rare". It is a pity, however, that a little surgical hand, in the resolution of the regional council of 9 November 2011, posthumously introduced the fateful formula of the "Rare Earths" into the tender almost ten years earlier, extending a posteriori, and not just the potential of that concession.

Non-existent company

A deliberative act, that of 2021 by the regional council, which makes a statement that appears surreal. They write in the resolution: «the intervention provides for the exploitation of the residual deposit, with fluorite and associated sulphides, of the Silius mine, which follows the award to the proponent of the 2012 regional tender». In 2012, however, that company declared as the "proponent" of the project submitted for examination by the junta did not even exist, having been "founded" only on July 9, 2018, therefore six years after the tender that it would have won, with registered start of activity on July 11, 2022.

Illustrious unknown

This is where Mineraria Gerrei officially enters the scene, at least in terms of corporate existence, an illustrious unknown with its registered office in the locality of Muscadroxiu, in the municipality of Silius. In 2018 he declared an employee and a share capital of 100 thousand euros, not even all paid up. One fact is certain, Mineraria Gerrei presents an adaptation project dated April 2022 to the Region, when the same company is still inactive in the records. The wording of the anonymous private company's plan, however, reproduces exactly the title "corrected" by the little surgical hand in the deliberative act of the Region: Mining concession for known minerals and "rare earths". A wording that in times of world energy "war", where Europe depends for 97% on Chinese "rare earths", takes on much more importance in the European arena.

Red dot

In the ministerial and European dossiers, in fact, in that quadrant of Gerrei, there is a red dot, entirely dedicated to the presence in the bowels of the earth of the new "gold", the one indispensable for the future ecological transition, starting from the cars of the future and beyond Alone. The topic is delicate, not only for international relations but also for what is hidden behind a mining concession that passes, without a fight, from fluorite to "Rare Materials". Who knew and who added that new concession "potential" to the Muscadroxiu and Genna Tres Montis mine? For what reason? And what advantages will the Region derive from it in economic terms? All questions, for now, without any answers.

Blitz in Genna Tres Montis

The mystery of Pranu 'e sanguini is armored in the secret rooms of a Bergamo notary. It is May 5, 2023 when, in front of the notary's house, the old partners of Mineraria Gerrei show up. There are Umberto Gioia, sole and legal director of "Sma - Sviluppo Miniere Ambiente" and Matteo Maccabelli, board member of "Edilmac". Both of them hold 100% of the shares of the "concessionaire" company of the Genna Tres Montis mine in Silus. Each of them has a share capital of 50,000 euros, partially paid up. They are not alone. With them is a mysterious lady. His name appears for the first time in the Muscadroxiu "Rare Earths" chessboard, but he does not represent a mining company. The new entry is one of those destined to make a bang. Her name is Susanna Santini. The report drawn up by the notary makes no secret of his qualification: «he participates in this deed as Chairman of the Board of Directors and legal representative of the joint-stock company "Aruba SpA". We are talking about the most important Italian provider in the world, an infinite wealth of Data Centers in half of Europe and for some years now it has been conquering the Chinese market. The core business is in universal computer archives, where it protects billions of information and data from private individuals and countless public entities. The climb to "Muscadroxiu" is secret, nobody knows anything about this sudden capital increase, given that in a nanosecond, complete with a notary seal, it goes from 100,000 euros to two million. Aruba immediately dictated the law by conquering 51% of the company and dividing the remainder between the other two shareholders, in equal parts. The question is legitimate: why does a multinational with hundreds of connections in the IT world decide to "buy" a mine a stone's throw from infinity? It certainly isn't a gamble. It is probable that some "little bird" informed the top management of Aruba about something more than that mine. Of course, many passages remain to be clarified, starting with that "Terre Rare" item dropped from the sky like a prophecy on the new concession. If this were the case, however, the values of that mine immediately change, which must be redefined in the light of the new potential. It is one thing to quarry gravel, another to extract "Rare Materials", those of Genna Tres Montis, in the land of Silius.

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