A new restoration plan could see the Can Gallego quarry in Cala Tarida receive approximately 1.73 million tonnes of earth and stone over the next three and a half decades, with the operation expected to continue until 2060.

The project, now undergoing public consultation, proposes a joint solution for the restoration of the neighbouring Can Gallego and Cala Tarida quarries in Sant Josep after their existing restoration plans were found to be incompatible in the area where the two sites meet.

A New Restoration Plan

The Can Gallego quarry, identified as number 384, and the adjacent Cala Tarida quarry, number 423, have both exhausted their extractive resources and have been subject to restoration plans for years.

Can Gallego's restoration project dates from 2005, while the Cala Tarida plan was approved in 2014.

The problem is that the two designs do not fit together where the quarries meet. The new proposal therefore seeks to complete the remaining restoration work at Cala Tarida before carrying out the larger restoration operation across Can Gallego.

1.7 Million Tonnes of Material

The project estimates that 1,152,000 cubic metres of material will ultimately be deposited in the quarry.

Using an estimated density of 1.5 tonnes per cubic metre, that represents approximately 1,728,000 tonnes of material.

The material would consist of uncontaminated earth and stones generated by construction projects, other quarries and the company itself.

The filling operation would be divided into five phases and is expected to take almost 35 years.

The planned annual intake is 60,000 tonnes. Of that amount, 50,000 tonnes would be used directly for restoration, while another 10,000 tonnes would undergo crushing and screening for use as aggregate.

Cala Tarida Restoration Comes First

The company Arenas San José S.L., which operates both quarries under an agreement with their owners, proposes completing the remaining 5,382 square metres of the Cala Tarida site before transferring the rest of the restoration activity to Can Gallego.

Part of Cala Tarida has already been restored. Its northern horizontal platform was filled, revegetated and removed from the Mining Registry in 2021.

Once the remaining restoration work is completed and the corresponding authorisation is cancelled, the new proposal would concentrate the subsequent operation on Can Gallego.

Landscaping and Replanting

The restoration plan includes a substantial revegetation programme.

The proposal provides for approximately 1,930 Aleppo pines together with more than 7,000 shrubs, including juniper, mastic, heather and rosemary.

Each completed platform would also receive a drainage layer and topsoil intended to support the final landscape restoration.

The estimated budget for the project is €290,001.53, with definitive abandonment of the operation scheduled for 2060.

Environmental Concerns

The environmental impact study assesses four possible alternatives and concludes that the chosen proposal would be the least harmful of those considered.

However, the document also identifies several environmental sensitivities.

The surrounding landscape is classified as having “high visual quality”, while the study's assessment identifies impacts that could be significant.

The area also sits above a groundwater body classified as having poor ecological status, with medium vulnerability. Under Ibiza's territorial planning framework, 97.9% of the site is within an erosion-risk prevention area, while the entire area is classified as having a medium risk of aquifer contamination.

The wildfire risk assessment is also notable, with 97.9% of the land classified as having very high fire risk and the remaining 2.1% as extremely high.

A Project Now Open to Public Consultation

The Govern Balear has formally opened the public-information period for the adaptation of the Can Gallego restoration project.

The process gives authorities and members of the public an opportunity to examine the technical documentation and environmental assessment before the project advances.

The proposal is therefore not yet a completed restoration operation. It remains subject to the relevant administrative and environmental procedures.

A 35-Year Transformation

If approved and carried out as proposed, the Can Gallego project would represent one of Ibiza's longer-term quarry restoration operations.

Over nearly 35 years, more than 1.7 million tonnes of uncontaminated earth and stone would be used to reshape the exhausted quarry before the site is ultimately revegetated and restored.

For Sant Josep, the project also highlights a broader challenge facing Ibiza: how to manage the enormous quantities of earth and construction material generated by development while dealing with exhausted quarry sites and increasingly strict environmental requirements.

The proposed restoration of Can Gallego aims to address both issues, but its long timeframe and the environmental sensitivities identified in the impact study mean that the project will now face close scrutiny during the public consultation process.