Iliç Gold Mine 'EIA positive' report cancelled: 12punto obtains court ruling

Hikmet Eren ÇELENK/ 12PUNTO EXCLUSIVE

A landslide occurred on February 13, 2024, at the Çöpler Gold Mine, operated by Anagold Mining in Iliç, Erzincan, resulting in the loss of nine workers' lives. Following the incident, numerous allegations regarding the mine were shared on social media. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change issued a statement regarding claims of a cyanide leak from the mine, stating that the leak originating from a pipeline had flowed outside the facility boundaries onto sloping terrain and had not reached the dry creek bed because there was no water flow in the creek due to the season. The Ministry stated that they had cleaned the areas contaminated by the solution either by chemical intervention or by removal.

Another allegation was that Murat Kurum, during his tenure as Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change before the local elections, had approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the capacity increase at the Çöpler Gold Mine. Murat Kurum served as the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change between 2018 and 2023.

The Erzincan Administrative Court has concluded the cancellation lawsuit filed against the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and licenses of the gold mine in the Çöpler locality of the Iliç district, operated by Anagold Mining. The court cancelled the EIA report and licenses granted to the gold mine by the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Murat Kurum.

Here is the Administrative Court's decision obtained by 12punto and the process that took place:

'EIA REPORT WILL DESTROY OUR REGION'

Local residents, who filed a lawsuit against the EIA report approved in 2021 and stated that ongoing mining activities and the use of cyanide would destroy their region, submitted their claims to the court as a request for cancellation, stating: “It will end agriculture and animal husbandry, it is an attempt to intentionally end the right to life, no piece of land is safe anymore due to the climate crisis, acid mine drainage will destroy some minerals in the soil, recent changes in the climate make the soil more important, the subject of the case should be handled at the national security level, the capacity increase cannot be accepted, the report is not based on scientific data, mining activities should be terminated immediately…”

'ALL WORK PERFORMED IS SCIENTIFIC AND RELIABLE'

Regarding the cancellation of the EIA report, attorneys for Angora Mining claimed that all work and transactions were carried out in accordance with the legislation, adding to the case file a summary of their defense: “The project areas consist of forests and pastures, positive opinions were received from relevant institutions for these areas, the distance of the site to the Euphrates River is approximately 2 km, all work performed is scientific and reliable, diversion channels will be built to prevent surface water flow from the basin from entering the areas where the project site is located, and rehabilitation work will be carried out after mining activities are terminated…”

'COURT REQUESTED A NEW EXPERT REPORT'

The initial lawsuit application made by the plaintiff local residents was rejected by the court based on the EIA report, as it was deemed invalid in terms of legal standing because one of the plaintiffs, I.H.A., did not reside in the project area or the project impact area as of the date the lawsuit was filed, according to National Judiciary Informatics System (UYAP) records. Later, the Erzincan Administrative Court reached the conclusion that the prepared expert reports were not of a quality and sufficiency to be taken as the basis for a judgment. The court decision included the statement: “It is seen that it was overturned by our Chamber's decision dated 05/04/2023 and numbered E:2023/360, K:2023/3465, on the grounds that a new expert report should be prepared, and that a new expert committee should be formed by selecting faculty members from other branches if necessary, including an Environmental Engineer, Geological Engineer, Agricultural Engineer, Chemical Engineer, Mining Engineer, Civil Engineer, Forestry Engineer, Meteorological Engineer, Hydrogeologist, and Biologist (Flora-Fauna expert), and that a new discovery and expert examination should be conducted on-site, and a new decision should be made on the merits of the case by taking into account the report to be prepared by evaluating the environmental impacts of the project,” and immediately after, the decision regarding the necessary preparations for the preparation of a new report was notified.

'WILL SATISFY THE SENSE OF JUSTICE'

In the part of the court decision regarding the retrial of the case, it is stated: “It is clear that by having a discovery and expert examination conducted together and with the same expert committee regarding the aforementioned files, the inclusion of contradictory findings and opinions in the prepared expert reports will be prevented, and the court decision to be rendered by taking such prepared expert reports as the basis for the judgment will both satisfy the sense of justice of the parties and ensure that a result is reached without any room for doubt.

In this respect, the Administrative Court decision subject to appeal, which was rendered in the direction of rejecting the case, does not have legal accuracy in terms of procedure and substance for the reasons stated above.”

'EIA REPORT IS UNLAWFUL'

The court panel, which concluded that the EIA report declared after the expert reports mentioned in the decision had no legal validity, stated the following in its explanation:

“It has been concluded that there is no compliance with the law and legislation in the 'Environmental Impact Assessment Positive' decision dated 07.10.2021 granted by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change for the 'Çöpler Complex Mine 2nd Capacity Increase and Flotation Plant Project' with license numbers 847, 49729, and 20067313, which is planned to be carried out by (intervener) Anagold Mining Industry and Trade Inc. in the Çöpler Village Locality, which is the subject of the lawsuit.”

News Source: 12punto