Rescue operations continue in Erzincan, in the northeast, four days after a landslide trapped nine people working in a gold mine. While the chances of finding them alive are considered very slim, the Turkish government announced this Saturday that it had withdrawn the environmental permit for the mine, of which NGOs and professional organizations are calling for its outright closure.
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With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer
Highly criticized since the disaster in the Iliç gold mine, the Turkish authorities want to be firm. The Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning announced that it was canceling the environmental permit for Turkey’s gold mine, where nine miners are still trapped after the slippage that occurred on Tuesday February 13, which he himself had granted to the operating company, Anagold.
The ministry added that the earth carried by the huge landslide – feared to be contaminated by cyanide used to extract gold – would be removed and “ stored » elsewhere temporarily. The fear is that toxic materials will flow into the Euphrates, located 300 meters as the crow flies from the site. Officially, no pollution has yet been detected in the river.
Six officials incarcerated
The matter is politically sensitive: two years ago, the Turkish authorities briefly suspended operations in this mine after the discovery of a cyanide leak. But the mine was able to reopen after paying a heavy fine, which caused an outcry from the opposition.
The justice system, too, wants to show its firmness: six managers of the mine have already been imprisoned. A first expert report estimates that by ignoring the presence of cracks, those responsible put the lives of miners in danger.