SSR Mining's initial focus is on removing heap leach material from the Sabirli valley and shifting it to a permanent storage location
The Turkish government has cancelled the environmental permit of the Çöpler gold mine operated by SSR Mining. (Credit: ivabalk from Pixabay)
The Turkish government has cancelled the environmental permit of the Çöpler gold mine operated by SSR Mining, following an accident last week.
SSR Mining said that the operations at the Turkish gold mine will remain suspended until further notice.
The development comes after a large slip on the heap leach pad at the Çöpler gold mine on 13 February, trapping nine workers under the rubble.
According to various reports, the workers remain trapped under the soil. The search and rescue efforts to locate the missing workers are continuing at the Çöpler mine.
The mining company said that planning for near-term remediation efforts has started at the direction of Turkish ministry officials.
SSR Mining’s initial focus is on removing heap leach material from the Sabirli valley and shifting it to a permanent storage location.
The company is also utilising third party contractor resources to support the recovery and remediation efforts.
Situated in the east-central region of Türkiye, within the Erzincan Province, approximately 1,100km southeast of the capital city of Istanbul and 550km east of Ankara, the Çöpler mine has been in operation since 2010.
SSR Mining has an interest of 80% in the Turkish gold mine. The Çöpler mine is presently processing ore by using two producing plants.
The current estimated mine life of the gold mine is more than 20 years.
In November 2023, SSR Mining agreed to divest its San Luis project to Highlander Silver for a total consideration of up to $42.5m. San Luis is a greenfield gold and silver development project located in the department of Ancash in central Peru.