The struggle to save Sakdrisi began after the Ministry of Culture removed the status of “Sakdrisi Ancient Gold Mine” as a cultural heritage monument on 5 July 2013. The commission considered that this status had been granted to the site in 2006 in violation of procedures. The President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, also agreed to the removal of the monument from the cultural heritage list and signed the decision.

Doubts about the authenticity of the monument were expressed by the company RMG Gold. This company held the license for mineral extraction in the Sakdrisi–Qvarchiani area. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, the company claimed that copper—not gold—had been extracted in the historical mine, and that preserving the mine in its original form was impossible. The company additionally noted that the presence of a cultural heritage site on their licensed territory prevented them from transferring 100 million in license fees to the state budget.

Granting and revoking cultural heritage status was the prerogative of the Minister of Culture, and for this the minister required a conclusion from a commission made up of specialists. The conclusion was prepared by the 11-member commission established at the ministry to study Sakdrisi–Qvarchiani. One of its members was Omar Kutsnashvili, father of MP Zakaria Kutsnashvili. At the same time, he owned a 39% share in the company Geoengineering, which cooperated with RMG Gold (then LLC “Quartzite”). In 2011, Geoengineering conducted engineering-geological studies on the Sakdrisi licensed territory at the request of RMG Gold. Omar Kutsnashvili’s participation in the commission was considered a clear conflict of interest by the NGO Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA).

It was with Kutsnashvili’s participation that the commission concluded that the Sakdrisi mine, as a cultural heritage monument, could not bring the state as much financial benefit as the ore extracted from this site could.

Ultimately, it was decided that RMG Gold would build a museum in the Bolnisi district, where artifacts and parts of the monument discovered at Sakdrisi would be transferred (a memorandum on this was signed between the Cultural Heritage Protection Agency and the company on 25 March 2014).

On 13 November 2013, part of the public protested the Ministry of Culture’s decision in front of the ministry building. The protest was timed with the presentation of Minister Guram Odisharia’s first annual report, attended by cultural attachés of diplomatic missions accredited in Georgia.

On 13 January 2014, the Minister of Culture stated that, based on the research of LLC “Association of Archaeologists,” he could not issue a positive conclusion for granting a mining permit and that the study of Sakdrisi had to continue. His deputy, Marine Mizandari, said that RMG Gold was carrying out work without a permit and had damaged the archaeological site. That same day, the company released a statement accusing the ministry of deliberate obstruction.

A month later, it became known that Minister Odisharia had asked the Prime Minister to dismiss his deputy. The official reason was not stated as the Sakdrisi case, but the minister said that Marine Mizandari “was making decisions independently.” On 14 February, a protest-performance was held in front of the Ministry of Culture demanding the minister’s resignation — “Guram, jump down.”

On 18 February, NGOs demanded from the Ministry of Culture that Sakdrisi’s cultural heritage status be restored. The joint press conference was attended by the former deputy minister, Marine Mizandari.

A month after the deputy’s dismissal, on 14 March, the government granted RMG a permit to extract minerals on the Sakdrisi territory. Deputy Minister Aleksandre Margishvili said that the research conducted by the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Protection determined that Sakdrisi was not an ancient gold mine. That same day, students (“Green Fist”) staged a performance, bringing 30 eggs to the ministry as to a “sold-out agency.” Around 500 people went to Sakdrisi on 22 March; the police tried to prevent protesters from approaching the site. Another protest-performance (“Pouring Water”) was held on 27 March, this time in front of the Government Administration. On 25 June, citizens who arrived at the Ministry of Culture released “soap bubbles,” believing that the ministry’s actions resembled soap bubbles.

“In the ministry, just like in a soap bubble, only the beginning is attractive. Just like a child who sees soap bubbles for the first time and is disappointed by their short life, the current composition of the Ministry of Culture, in whom almost all cultural figures had placed great hope, leaves us disappointed,” they said.

On 2 June 2014, based on a lawsuit filed by GYLA, Judge Natia Buskadze of Tbilisi City Court issued a ruling temporarily prohibiting RMG Gold from conducting large-scale works.

On 21 July, along with six other ministers, Guram Odisharia left his position. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili did not link this change to his position on Sakdrisi.

RMG Gold resumed work at Sakdrisi based on an order issued by the Ministry of Culture on 12 December 2014. The order was issued by the Minister of Culture, Levan Gigineishvili. On 13 December, it became known that an explosion had been heard at Sakdrisi — the company had blown up the ancient Sakdrisi–Qvarchiani gold mine. As soon as the information spread, part of the public headed to the site. On 15 December, heavy machinery was operating at Sakdrisi against the backdrop of protests, while company employees held a counter-protest. They believed that RMG Gold had to resume earthworks at the Sakdrisi–Qvarchiani site, otherwise they would be left without jobs.

A few days later, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili commented to the media: “On one side there are 3,000 families, their livelihood and well-being, and on the other side, a sterile archaeological site.” On 2 March 2015, the Court of Appeals upheld the decision of Tbilisi City Court, which annulled the Ministry of Culture’s decision of 5 July 2013 (on revoking the monument’s status) and ordered the ministry to reconsider the issue of removing the status. The work at Sakdrisi did not stop.