Locals worried of gold mine in western Anatolia
ESKİŞEHİR
Environmentalists and the provincial municipality have warned of risks of cyanides, which will be used by a gold mining company on Mount Murat in the western province of Kütahya.
The Environment and Urbanization Ministry approved the Environmental Impact Assessment report of the mining project on May 8, giving a green light for the mining works.
But locals in the provinces of Kütahya and nearby Eskişehir, Bilecik and Uşak applied to courts.
“Some 60 lawsuits were filed against the report. Digging for gold in this area will pollute the sea with cyanides through three big streams,” said Sadık Yurtman, chair of an environmentalist association in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir on June 30, referring to the streams of Porsuk, Gediz and Sakarya streams which end up in the the Aegean and the Black Sea after uniting with other streams.
Mount Murat has been known as a relatively untouched forestal area in western Anatolia and the inner Aegean region.
“The area includes important water sources. It is also home to red deer and wild horses,” said Garip Yıldırım, former director of the water and sewerage administration in Eskişehir.
