Search operation at Çöpler Gold Mine halted due to risk of new landslide

The search operation for nine miners trapped under the cyanide-laden soil has been halted at Çöpler Gold Mine in Turkey’s Erzincan province, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar have announced.

Tuesday February 20 2024 12:26 am

Photo: DHA

Duvar English

Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar on Feb. 19 announced that the search operation for nine workers trapped under the cyanide-laden soil were halted due to the risk of a new landslide.

A landslide disaster at the Çöpler Gold Mine on Feb. 13 led to the entrapment of at least nine workers and cyanide leakage to the environment in the eastern province of Erzincan.

In a press statement held in Erzincan’s İliç district, Interior Minister Yerlikaya said they halted the operation on Feb. 18 “when we saw the risk that the mass was becoming increasingly active.”

“We are worried about whether a safe environment will be regained or not. We are currently looking at it negatively. This is what our experts are saying right now,” he added.

Yerlikaya also said they have "an indispensable priority" in all search and rescue operations, which is the safety of those who are involved in operations.

Energy Minister Bayraktar said “Our main priority right now is to eliminate the risk of landslides. Today, the assessment of the technical team and academics is that there was an earthquake effect due to the landslide. They stated that there was an earthquake effect of approximately 2 magnitude.”

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya (L) and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar (DHA)

Independent Mining Labor Union Organization Specialist Mert Batur told ANKA News Agency that the operation was halted as of Feb. 18 after it was determined that there was a 10-20 centimeter slide in the Çöpler Gold Mine area.

A landslide at the Çöpler Gold Mine on Feb 13. trapped nine workers under thousands of tons of mass consisting of cyanide. Workers stated that the company had known about the landslide risk ahead of the disaster.

The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change on Feb. 17 announced that the mine's license had been canceled.

Experts, opposition figures, and neighboring villagers had been warning about the dangers of the mine since its foundation in 2009 due especially its close proximity to the Euphrates River.