Gold mine resumes activities

ISTANBUL

Operations at Çukuralan field of Turkish gold mining firm Koza Altın have resumed nine days after being halted by local authorities.

Koza Altın announced Jan. 10 that a court suspended an order issued by the Izmir Provincial Administration for closure of the mine due to the absence of “environmental permits or the environmental permits and licenses’ document.”

The company had issued a public statement following the order, in which it called the decision “illegal,” vowing to take legal action against it.

The company is owned by Akın İpek, a businessman known to have close ties with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s “cemaat” (community) movement, which has been at odds with the government amid the ongoing graft probe. İpek also owns daily Bugün and broadcaster Kanaltürk. A quarter of 451,000 tons of gold extracted by Koza Altın between January and November was collected from Çukuralan.