Gold Mines Face Closure Amid Gov't Blockade

The government is illegally holding off on a decision to allow a local gold mining firm to continue its operations at two mines, and work may be halted after a short while, the firm said in a written statement on Thursday.

The gold mining company, Koza Altın A.Ş., said in a note to Borsa İstanbul (BİST) on Thursday that the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning has declined to renew the operating licenses required for two of its gold mines even though all the necessary documents were filed with the ministry months ago. Underlining that all required measures have been taken to safely operate the mines, Koza said it will take the issue to court, referring to the government decision as an “arbitrary block.”

The firm filed the documents for a gold mine of theirs in Kayseri five months ago and for an Eskişehir mine nine months ago, but both are still awaiting an answer from the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning. Koza will have to shut down both mines on Dec. 1, the deadline for license renewals.

The gold mines are required to file workplace safety reports to the government before they can continue operating in Turkey. The Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning has to come up with a decision on whether to allow the mines to continue running after receiving the reports.

Koza says, however, that the ministry has failed to reply to its demand for a renewal of its license.

A total of 300 workers in the two Koza mines will lose their jobs and the firm will lose nearly $10 million a month unless the licenses are provided before Dec. 1.

Koza had to move part of its mining investments to the United Kingdom due to intense political pressure at home this year. The firm accuses the government of exploiting inspections and red tape to put pressure on the firm, which has views critical of government policies.

Koza's parent company, İpek Holding, owns a media group, and says it is being punished by the government for critical coverage of authoritarian government policies.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)