A 'remediation' plan for İliç, Erzincan: The goal is to restart

The operating company, SSR Mining, has published a report regarding the disaster that occurred at the Çöpler Gold Mine in the İliç district of Erzincan, following the collapse of a cyanide-leach heap. The company stated that 'remediation work will be carried out' in the area where the environmental disaster, which caused the deaths of 9 workers—5 of whom are still being searched for—took place.

Reporting that the leach waste flowing toward the Sabırlı Creek Valley is being moved to temporary storage areas, SSR Mining stated that all of the waste is expected to be cleared by the fourth quarter of 2024.

According to the report, which states that the company will submit a 'remediation plan' to the government in the second quarter of the year and that this plan will include the 'construction of a permanent storage facility' for the waste stored in temporary facilities, the permanent facility in question will have a storage capacity of 18 to 20 million tons of waste.

According to the statement made by the company operating the mine, cleaning up the Çöpler Gold Mine, where nine workers were left under the soil as a result of the cyanide-processed soil heap sliding, will cost at least 250 to 300 million dollars.

RESTARTING OPERATIONS

Stating that the work in question will take between 24 and 36 months, the company pointed out that it has 'sufficient credit and cash flow' to finance the project. The report stated, "The company is in a good position to finance these remediation commitments."

The report stated that once all necessary regulatory approvals, including the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and operating permits, are back in effect, operations at the mine will restart. As part of the remediation plan, it was noted that the heap leach area will be permanently closed and that mining operations will be carried out solely through the sulfide plant, which will process the stockpiled material.

News Source: 12punto