Cable cars in the west Georgian mining town of Chiatura will finally be refurbished, for the first time since their construction during soviet times. The government of France is supporting the Georgian government to implement the work.
The Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure announced on 19 January that work would initially be carried out on the central station, which ferries passengers in three directions, 862 meters to the Sanatorium, 1,081 meters to Naguti Station, and 845 meters to Lezhubani. Plans are already being drawn up for a fourth route to Mukhadze (640 meters).
Chiatura is an industrial town in Imereti Region where manganese ore is extracted. A significant portion of the local population is employed in the town’s mining industry either directly in the mines or in an ore washing plant and distribution centre.
The town is located in a valley, with the aerial ropeways acting as important means of transportation. They are used both by the general public, and plant and mine employees to travel to and from work. Cables are also used to carry ore along the valley.
According to the ministry, the total cost of the project is about ₾40 million ($15 million), and it is being co-funded by the Georgian and French governments.
Manganese extraction began in Chiatura in the late 19th century, and at it’s height, the mining town accounted for 40% of world manganese production, and 75% of Georgia’s economy. The cable cars were constructed and launched in in 1954; since then, they have not received any refurbishment. Transportation on the cars was suspended in 2016 because of their high risk of failure. Rehabilitation works are planned to be finished by Autumn of 2017.
In 2021, Vera Kupatadze was one of eight people who spent a month on hunger strike, her lips sewn shut, to demand compensation from Georgian Manganese for damage to her property.
Today, Vera is one of dozens of Shukrutians who are demanding action and clarity from the company, which operates the mines in Chiatura, on the fate of their houses and the entire village.
[Read more: Mine entrance blocked near Shukruti in renewed protest against Georgian Manganese]
During the 2021 protests,
Residents of a village near the Georgian mining town of Chiatura have blocked access to a mine running under their village, to demand adequate compensation for the destruction of their village.
Residents of Shukruti, in western Georgia, set up a tent outside the mine entrance on Wednesday, the latest in a series of protests against mining company Georgian Manganese.
The land in and around Shukruti began to collapse in 2019, with Georgian Manganese initially denying any connection to the mine
A strike by manganese miners in the central Georgian town of Chiatura has come to an end after 18 days, with the mining company agreeing to key demands from the workers.
On Saturday, mining firm Georgian Manganese agreed to reverse new ore quotas that miners had described as ‘inhuman’. They also agreed to honour their contractual obligation to increase salaries by 12%, in line with inflation.
The miners went on strike after the company announced that workers would have to mine up to 40% more
Manganese miners from the central Georgian town of Chiatura have for weeks been on strike over their working conditions. But since a portion of the strikers moved their protest to the capital Tbilisi, far-right figures have been seen attempting to ingratiate themselves into the protests, leaving the miners unsure who to trust.
When several dozen striking miners and their supporters arrived in Tbilisi on 19 June, their intention was to bring wider attention to their cause. And the strike resona
Cable cars in the west Georgian mining town of Chiatura will finally be refurbished, for the first time since their construction during soviet times. The government of France is supporting the Georgian government to implement the work. 
