Landslide at Chopra gold mine in Ilic, Erzincan province
At 14:28 on February 13, a landslide occurred in a large area in Erzincan’s Ilic district, where the Anagold-owned Çepla gold mine is located. Around 10 million cubic meters of soil quickly slid down a 200-meter slope. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the soil in question had shifted 800 meters. At least nine workers were trapped under the shifting soil. Upon being notified, Erzincan Gendarmerie, AFAD and medical teams headed to the area. The huge pile of soil that slid down towards the Euphrates River consisted of substances washed with cyanide and sulfuric acid, a statement said.
Despite all the opposition, the company expanded its production capacity during the time of Murat Kurm, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, and it emerged that a decision was made that “no EIA report was required” for the mine.
Click – Landslide at the Çepla gold mine in Erzinjan: “There is also a slide behind, where 400 workers work each shift.”
Click – Ilic’s path to collapse: Cyanide leaked, but the license was not revoked, his tax debt was wiped out, and his money doubled
Click – Statement issued on the Ilic mine disaster: The area where the containers with the trapped workers were located was called the “safe area”
Click – Turkish Manager of Anagold Madenclik: The photos of the cracks were sent to me 2 hours before the incident, but I only saw them 3 days later. I don’t know if the project is being audited.
Click – The “Capacity Increase Permit” for the Çepla mine was granted during the term of Minister Murat Kurm.
Click – Yerlikaya: The volume of the mass sliding through the heap-leaching area where the ore is located was 10 million cubic meters, and nine of our workers were trapped under it.
Click – TTB statement on Chepura Gold Mine: The mine’s licence was not revoked after the cyanide leak, but the drive to increase production capacity in pursuit of profits proved a recipe for disaster.
Click – Turkol, president of the TMMOB Chamber of Metallurgical and Materials Engineers: “The number of miners trapped under rubble is five times higher than the official figure.”
Click – Yenerol, who reported the “cyanide leak” in parliament, explained it step by step: How did the Ilic disaster happen so loudly?
