AGIRÎ - The gold exploration activities of Koza Gold Enterprises in Giyadîn (Diyadin) district of Agirî (Ağrı) have spread over an area of 470 hectares, while the mine poses a great risk to the Murat River. 

 

The ecological destruction being carried out by Koza Gold Enterprises A.Ş. in the Giyadîn is getting bigger every day. The ecological destruction project, which was launched in 2021 by Mustafa Varank, then Minister of Industry and Technology, and Fatih Dönmez, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, under the title of "160 million dollar investment in Ağrı", threatens the entire basin from the foothills of Mount Tendürek to the Persian Gulf. 

 

According to the statement made by both ministers, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the construction of a facility worth 160 million dollars to extract 20 tonnes of gold and 3 and a half tonnes of silver reserves. The ecological destruction project, officially launched in 2021, has spread over 470 hectares in the intervening 4 years.

 

THE REGION IS BEING POISONED

 

The ecological destruction project started in the village of Mollakara in Giyadîn district is located 50 metres from the Murat River, which originates in the foothills of Tendürek Mountain. The quarry, which is expanding day by day with the construction of new plant buildings, has reached the Murat River. In the latest footage, the company plunders an entire mountain slope and uses cyanide for gold separation, inviting a new natural disaster. 

 

According to scientific researches, around 10 per cent of poison is mixed into the nature during the use of cyanide for the separation of gold from the soil. In addition, pain minerals such as arsenic, antimony, mercury, nickel, chromium, nickel, chromium and lead are mixed into the nature and air during the processing and excavation of the soil, poisoning the region.

 

CYANIDE RISK

 

The fact that the gold separation plant is located on the Murat River further increases the danger. The Murat River passes through many settlements and joins the Euphrates River after 722 kilometres. The fact that the Euphrates extends to the Persian Gulf further increases the danger if cyanide mixes with the river.

 

This state-sponsored ecological destruction project also starts right next to the villages. This brings serious problems for public health.

 

MA / Ömer Akın