The Turkish unit of SSR Mining will pay for all cleanup costs following a landslide at its Copler gold mine in eastern Turkey, a top government official said, without citing a specific figure.
Speaking to Bloomberg after a cabinet meeting late Monday in Ankara, Energy & Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the costs will include the removal of about 10-million tons of waste soil. Work to find nine workers left under the soil from the February 13 incident continues, he said.
“Hundreds of trucks are working at the site, removing as much as 90 000 t of soil every day,” Bayraktar said. “We’re currently moving them to a temporary location, but once the storage area is ready, it will all be transferred there. The costs will be assumed by the company.”
Anagold Madencilik, 80%-owned by Denver-based SSR Mining, was fined 16.4-million liras after a cyanide spill in 2022, at the time equal to about $1-million. The Minister didn’t comment on any new fines.
The mine’s environmental permits were revoked after the incident.
Shares of SSR Mining have fallen 57% to $4.19 in US trading since the landslide. The company retracted its previous guidance on Copler while also suspending quarterly dividend payments and an automatic share purchase plan.
SSR didn’t respond to an email from Bloomberg seeking comment on the possible cost of the cleanup.