Does gold smell like bitter almonds?

CYANIDE DIARIES FROM BERGAMA-5

Gold itself has no scent, but the cyanide used to extract it today certainly does...

It smells like bitter almonds!

Anyone who smells cyanide first detects the "scent of bitter almonds," but that is the last scent they will ever perceive.

Cyanide is an extremely toxic chemical substance.

It affects the central nervous system. It prevents oxygen from reaching cells., 

When ingested as a gas, Hydrogen cyanide (HCN), the body is deprived of oxygen, suffocates, and dies within approximately thirty seconds.

Chemically represented as "CN," "cyanide" consists of Carbon (C) and Nitrogen (N) elements.

Immediately after entering the bloodstream and causing suffocation, the elements that compose it decompose and are absorbed into the metabolism.

No trace of cyanide remains in the body.

If an autopsy is not performed immediately on the deceased, it is difficult to determine that they died from cyanide.

When ingested in liquid or solid form as sodium or potassium cyanide (NaCN and KCN), the time to death varies between 5 and 30 minutes.

In the books of British crime novelist Agatha Christie, murderers often kill their victims with cyanide. 

Murderers hope to commit the "perfect crime" this way, but they often fail!

 (Potassium Cyanide-KCN)

Cyanide is like this, but the shimmer of gold is brilliant.

It is the color of the sun, the color of wheat, the color of fire!

Its sound, its clinking, can be heard from very far away!

***

The world is living through a period where multinational capital is ready and present everywhere.

It thinks of nothing but making a profit!

Bombs, missiles, iron cages, environmental disasters, the destruction of nature!

Every now and then, to ease their consciences, they intend to do supposedly (!) beneficial work for society under the name of "corporate social responsibility."

Operating gold mines using cyanide is very profitable.

Which predator wouldn't run to grab the easy meat!

In the early years of the Republic, mining exploration and the establishment of enterprises were prohibited for foreign companies. This situation changed with the Mining Law enacted in 1985.

From then on, everyone, local or foreign, could explore for mines and establish businesses in Turkey.

Following this, 17 foreign companies came to Turkey first.

Naturally, the most prominent area of interest for these companies was "gold mining."

The state certainly knew about the ore deposits containing gold in the country. It had tried operating one in Kütahya but had failed.

The trial it conducted at the Kütahya Silver/Gold Mine had caused an environmental disaster.

The State had either sold the facility in Kütahya because it was in dire need of money, or the officials, seeing that the public was being poisoned, had become frightened and wanted to wash their hands of the matter.

Because according to Article 56 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, the State was obligated to "ensure that the public lives in a healthy environment."

And its politicians and civil servants were responsible for ensuring this.

The authorities likely abandoned such dangerous operations because of this cursed cyanide and arsenic.

Or perhaps the sovereigns who held the State had made it national policy that the State should no longer be involved in economic affairs, and that all work should be carried out by private capital.

But on one side there was wealth, and on the other, poison.

What would happen now?

Experienced cyanide companies, which had gained experience in cyanide mining operations around the world and knew well how to get along with governments and silence reactive publics, thought they were close enough to reach their dark hands toward the "poisonous gold" in Turkey.

Cyanide was cheap, gold was expensive.

***

To extract the gold from 1 ton of ore, approximately 1.5 kg of "sodium cyanide" was required. 

Accordingly, to obtain gold from 1 ton of ore, 29.5 US Dollars (if 1 Dollar is 34 TL, then 1,003 TL) would be spent on the cost of cyanide.

Because 1 kg of "sodium cyanide" was generally 19.5 Dollars (if 1 Dollar is 34 TL, then 662 TL).

The amount of gold found in powder form in the ore generally varied between 2-10 grams.

Since 1 gram of gold (as of 05.10.2024) was 79.21 dollars (2,900 TL), an income of 158-790 dollars could be obtained from 1 ton of ore in a gold mine.

Oh, how wonderful! 

Use 29.5 Dollars (1,003 TL) worth of cyanide, earn 158-790 Dollars (5,372-26,869 TL).

Invest 1, get 25 back!

That is why the insatiable companies of the Global World are attacking, poisoning the soil, and causing environmental disasters to obtain gold. Naturally, together with their local comrades.

Their eyes are never full!

Local companies and institutions that will cooperate with them are already ready to rush to help!

It never crosses their minds (!): "Gold is under the ground, inside the earth. 

It has been sitting where it is for thousands of years.

The cyanide and sulfuric acid used to extract them are very dangerous substances; they are poison.

Waste containing heavy metals and arsenic is another plague!

These ruin living things.

They destroy nature!

Using them in the open air, with the possibility of harming the environment, is very dangerous.

Let's leave them where they are.

If they are absolutely necessary for humanity, one day scientists will surely be able to find methods to separate them from the soil that will not harm the environment."

Capitalism, which thinks of nothing but "Money, profit, money, profit...", unfortunately does not say, "Then we will extract the gold!"

It is all about the money moguls who will become even richer now by investing 1 and getting 25 back.

They will pull the wool over the eyes of Public Officials by saying, "We will also bring a lot of gain to the country!"

And they will do so while ignoring the eyes of so many others!

And they, too, will say "okay" for the "supreme interests" of the country!

https://bianet.org/haber/gumuskoy-un-havasinda-siyanur-kokusu-var-129861 (2013)

***

In this process, the first gold mine in our Republican history began operations in Ovacık-Çamköy-Narlıca in the Bergama district of İzmir. Along with it, the one in Havran-Balıkesir.

These mines were followed in order by the mines in Uşak-Kışladağ, Manisa-Sart, Gümüşhane-Mastra, Erzincan-Çöpler, İzmir-Efemçukuru, Eskişehir-Kaymaz, Niğde-Bolkardağ, Kayseri-Himmetdede, Ordu-Altıntepe, Sivas-Bakırtepe, Kayseri-Develi, Balıkesir-Sındırgı, Çanakkale-Lapseki, and İzmir-Çukuralan.

Naturally, at the beginning.

The doors were wide open anyway.

More followed, and more are still coming!

Whose homeland is this?