Erste Stellungnahme des Umweltministeriums zur Goldmine Çöpler: Wir haben die Abdeckungen geschlossen, um zu verhindern, dass das „Material“ in den Euphrat fließt.

Çöpler Gold Mine Disaster

The initial response to the disaster at the Çöpler gold mine came from the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. The Ministry stated, „Immediately after the landslide, we promptly dispatched inspection teams from the central and provincial directorates of our Ministry to the region. We have closed the covers of the passage where the Sabırlı Stream flows into the Euphrates to prevent the material flowing during the landslide from reaching the river.“

In the İliç district of Erzincan, Anagold, in a large area where the Çöpler gold mine owned by the company is located, experienced a landslide. Governor of Erzincan, Hamza Aydoğdu, while determining that workers were trapped under the debris; İliç district chairman of CHP, Mesut Fall, reported the claim that according to family members, 10 to 15 workers had died. Minister of Justice, Yılmaz Tunç, announced that four prosecutors had been assigned to the incident. Minister of Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, mentioned they were investigating the possibility that nine people were trapped under the debris.

„Immediately after the landslide, we dispatched inspection teams from the central and provincial directorates of our Ministry to the region. To prevent the material flowing during the landslide from reaching the Euphrates, we have covered the passages where the Sabırlı Stream flows into the river. The Euphrates River is blocked. Our teams continue their work on-site and we are closely monitoring the developments.“

Anagold Mining’s Statement

Anagold Mining expressed their response to the collapse as follows: „We would like to express our deep sorrow over the collapse that occurred on Tuesday, February 13, around 14:28 in our heap leaching area in our Anagold Çöpler gold mine. Our top priority in this challenging process we are going through is the health and safety of our employees and contractors. We have put our plan into action and informed the relevant public institutions and organizations. Immediately after the emergency notification to the emergency teams and AFAD units of Anagold, we were informed that the incident had occurred. While necessary safety measures were taken in the region, swift actions were taken for all interventions. As an organization that focuses on the health and safety of its employees in all its activities, we will act in unity and solidarity with our employees and stakeholders in these difficult times. To minimize the impact of this painful incident, as we move forward to take all necessary steps, we will mobilize all our efforts to promptly investigate the incident. „We respectfully declare to the public that, in line with our principle of transparency, we will continuously inform the relevant authorities and the public about the developments.“