224 thousand trees to be cut down: EIA approval for Cengiz Holding's 'project'

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for a copper mine investment that Eti Bakır, a subsidiary of Cengiz Holding, intends to implement in Boyabat, Sinop, has been completed. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change accepted the company's application and granted an "EIA positive" decision for the project.

A MASSIVE AREA, THOUSANDS OF TREES

According to the final report, which spans a total of 4 thousand 504 pages, the project area covers a region of 897.87 hectares. While it is planned to open an area the size of approximately 1 thousand 263 football fields to mining activities, it is stated that 224 thousand 895 trees will be cut down within this scope. The report includes information that the site consists of forested areas, agricultural lands, and scrublands. It is stated that the copper ore planned to be extracted using the blasting method will amount to 4 million tons annually, and the amount of waste rock to be generated will be 9 million 250 thousand tons.

The mining site was transferred to Cengiz Holding through a tender held in October 2024. The fact that Cengiz Holding was the only company to meet the requirements in the tender conducted by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs sparked criticism among the public. It was noted that the company paid 3.68 billion TL for the land.

News Source: 12punto