TMMOB on İliç gold mine: 'We have repeatedly raised concerns about potential for landslides'

In the lawsuit filed by the Chamber of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) against Anagold Mining and the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change regarding the capacity increase in the İliç gold mine, the Erzincan Administrative Court issued a decision to suspend the execution.

Emin Koramaz, the Chairman of the TMMOB Board, made a statement today regarding the decision, stating, "Suspending the execution in İliç is not enough; all EIA and operation permits that have been granted should be revoked."

"Should be closed immediately"

The Chairperson of the TMMOB Board stated the following in his announcement: "As we have repeatedly explained both during the legal proceedings and in our technical reports, cyanide mining operations that lead to the destruction of forest areas, ecological and biological values, flora and fauna components, agricultural and pasture lands, water sources and basins, cultural and historical heritage, and settlement areas cause irreversible damage to the environment and human health. Indeed, the recent events have tragically highlighted this once again. Therefore, it is imperative for immediate cancellation decisions to be made in the two lawsuits filed by our Union, without merely settling for the suspension of execution orders, for the sake of human and environmental health.

"Furthermore, it is not sufficient to only focus on the cancellation of EIA decisions, which are the subject of ongoing lawsuits. Rather, the mining operation, which has caused environmental degradation and harmed agricultural and livestock activities since its inception, and has led to the exploitation of our country's resources by foreign companies through conducted colonial mining, must be terminated, and the mine should be immediately closed."

"Public officials who have allowed the operations to continue despite the environmental damage caused by the same mining site in 2018 and 2022, who have turned a deaf ear to repeated warnings about the potential landslide risks in the leach field and the company executives, among others responsible must be thoroughly investigated." (TY/PE)