The water supply for the east of the Halkidiki peninsula -- which has 8,000 inhabitants in the winter and up to 30,000 in summer -- "passes exactly through where they want to mine," he told AFP.
According to campaign group No Dirty Gold, a single gold ring creates on average 20 tonnes of mine waste, while cyanide and other toxic chemicals used to separate gold from rock can seep into the local water supply.
Tsirigotis is a veteran of protests 10 years ago that culminated in the government cancelling a previous gold-mining licence because of what it called "an imminent danger" to the environment.
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