Tailings pond breach in Turkey's north creates environmental disaster

A tailings pond breach in Turkey's Black Sea province of Giresun has poisoned locals' water and created an environmental disaster. Locals slammed the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry for fining the mining company some 16 days after the disaster.

Wednesday December 08 2021 12:25 pm

Duvar English

A tailings pond breach in Turkey's Black Sea province of Giresun has poisoned locals' water and created massive environmental damage.

The ponds in the flotation facility belonging to Yıldızlar Holding's Nesko Mining collapsed on Nov. 19 and the waste poured into the rivers nearby in the Şebinkarahisar district. The cyanide waste has also reached the Kılıçkaya Dam in the region.

Despite locals' cry for help in the face of the environmental disaster, the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry fined the company some 16 days after the incident took place.

The ministry said that the facility's operation license was revoked and it was sentenced to pay 12 million liras in administrative fines.

Giresun’un Şebinkarahisar ilçesinde çinko ve kurşun cevher zenginleştirme faaliyeti gösteren işletmeye, çevreye verdiği kirlilik nedeniyle “en üst sınır” olan 12 milyon lira idari para cezası uygulanarak işletme faaliyetten men edilmiştir.
— T.C. Çevre, Şehircilik ve İklim Dğş. Bakanlığı (@csbgovtr) December 4, 2021

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Necati Tığlı slammed the ministry for trying to disengage itself from the disaster.

"We can't forgive the fact that the ministry gave the permission for such a risky operation and didn't supervise it," Tığlı said.

"We want to know the extent of the disaster caused by the poisonous waste," he added.

Giresun'da bir katliam yaşanıyor!.

15 gün önce Yıldızlar Holding'in Giresun'daki maden atık havuzu patladı! Yaşam alanlarına oluk oluk zehir akıyor, devlet izliyor!

Ses verelim!
👉🏿 #KelkitZehirAkıyor #AcilÖnlemAl pic.twitter.com/YZTNn9nXpK
— Kazdağları İstanbul Dayanışması (@kazdaglariist) December 3, 2021

This is not the first time that Yıldızlar Holding caused environmental disasters. Similar incidents took place in the mines that they operated in Giresun and Gümüşhane, leading to the deaths of millions of fish.