EMEP's Bayhan asks Minister Özhaseki about 'İliç': 'Has an agreement been reached to extract valuable minerals?'
In the cyanide-leaching gold mine that collapsed in the İliç district of Erzincan, 9 workers were left under the heap. EMEP MP İskender Bayhan submitted a parliamentary question for Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Mehmet Özhaseki to answer, asking whether the company and the government have an agreement to search for ore in the heap.
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Following the incident in the cyanide-leaching gold mine in the İliç district of Erzincan, where nine workers were left under the heap, Çöpler Gold Mine's major partner SSR Mining updated its 2023 report and the report in which it shared its 2024 and long-term goals just before the disaster.
One of the striking statements in the report was that the mining monopoly is looking for a location together with the Turkish government to remove and store the ore mass contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals that flowed into the Sabırlı Valley.
Regarding the company's report, CHP MP Orhan Sarıbal had previously submitted a parliamentary question for Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar to answer. Finally, Labor Party (EMEP) Istanbul MP İskender Bayhan also submitted a parliamentary question on the subject for Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Mehmet Özhaseki to answer.
SUSPICION OF NEW RENT-SEEKING
Pointing out that those following the disaster, which has caused a massacre of workers and nature since the first day, have warned that moving this ore elsewhere would increase the risks to environmental and human health, EMEP Istanbul MP İskender Bayhan stated, "Questions regarding why the mining monopoly called SSR Mining is looking for a storage area and whether the gold can be re-extracted from the flowing soil create suspicions in the public that the mining monopoly and the Turkish government are pursuing a new rent-seeking scheme by moving the crushed and ground rock mass, which was subjected to the leaching process that flowed in İliç, to another facility."
"ARE YOU TRYING TO EXTRACT VALUABLE MINERALS?"
According to the news in Evrensel; the parliamentary question submitted by Bayhan for Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Mehmet Özhaseki to answer is as follows:
What is the amount of the ore mass contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals that flowed into the Sabırlı Valley?
According to the updated 2023 report of SSR Mining, the major partner of the Çöpler Gold Mine, it is seen that they are looking for a location together with the Turkish government to move the ore mass from the area where it is located to another facility. Where is it planned to move the heap, which is known to contain substances such as cyanide and arsenic that pose risks to the environment and public health?
What is the ultimate justification for moving the mass, which is claimed to have a toxic structure? Has SSR Mining and the Turkish government reached an agreement to extract the minerals considered valuable from within the flowing mass?
Are the images of dead fish in the Karasu River a result of the poisons in the mine mixing into the water? Has the cause of the fish deaths been investigated?
Are you considering making a transparent statement to the public about whether poison is leaking from the leaching area into the air, soil, and water?