Çöpler (İliç) heap leach collapse
- The same panel found exceedances in my groundwater and surface water, and in my air. Medyascope
- In 2022 cyanide leaked from the same heap onto me: 20 m³ was declared and 210 m³ was calculated by an expert. Medyascope
- 9 people died.Workers killed in the heap collapse on 13 February 2024.
- Company or project The company and the governorate: The leak was 20 m³. Medyascope
- Researchers Expert at the court site inspection: The leak was 210 m³. Medyascope
- Press and investigations Medyascope: The ministry accepted the company's declaration even on the leak volume. Medyascope
On 13 February 2024 a heap of ore being leached with cyanide slid at the Çöpler gold mine in İliç, Turkey, and nine workers died. A criminal trial of 43 defendants is ongoing, and in 2026 the majority owner sold its 80% stake to Cengiz Holding.
13 February 2024; trial of 43 defendants ongoing, no verdict.
Status As of October 2026: the trial of 43 defendants continues with no verdict, adjourned to 11 November 2026 (another entry gives 20 October 2026).
- SSR Mining — Sold its 80% stake in Çöpler to Cengiz Holding for about $1.49 billion in cash (announced March 2026). Mining.com
- Cengiz Holding — Acquired the 80% stake; its third capacity increase is before the EIA commission. SSR Mining
- Nine workers and their families — The nine workers died in the collapse. Evrensel
- Soil, groundwater, surface water and air at İliç — Exceedances in some values reported by an expert panel in May 2024. Medyascope
What happened
The Çöpler gold mine at İliç, in Erzincan province, is operated by Anagold. SSR Mining held 80% and Lidya Madencilik, part of Çalık Holding, held 20%. In 2022 a slide and a cyanide leak occurred on the same heap. The governorate and the company declared the leak at 20 m³; an expert at a court site inspection calculated 210 m³. the sources reviewed record that a fine was issued and the plant was briefly stopped.
On 13 February 2024 a heap of about 10 million m³ of ore, being leached with cyanide, slid. Nine workers were trapped under it, and their bodies could not be reached for months. An expert panel later reported exceedances of some values in soil, groundwater, surface water and air. According to that panel, as reported by Medyascope, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) had been approved even though limit values were exceeded.
The EIA approval for the mine's second capacity increase carries the signature of the then environment minister, Murat Kurum, dated 7 October 2021. In 2024 Kurum said, as reported, that the ministry does not decide capacity and that the EIA only examines environmental impacts.
The criminal case is before the Erzincan 1st High Criminal Court with 43 defendants, charged with causing the death and injury of several people through negligence and polluting the environment through negligence. An expert report found the public officials who approved the EIA at fault. At the seventh hearing in April 2026, victims' lawyers showed that an expert had a commercial relationship with the mining company; the court requested a new report and postponed the hearing to 11 November 2026. No verdict has been given.
SSR Mining agreed in March 2026 to sell its 80% stake to Cengiz Holding for about $1.49 billion in cash; SSR's release on the completed sale is dated June 2026. On 24 July 2026 the ministry, with Kurum again as minister, issued the mine a one-year temporary operating certificate. Cengiz's request for a third capacity increase is before the EIA commission, and annulment applications have been filed against the certificate.
- 20217 October: EIA approval for the second capacity increase signed by then environment minister Murat Kurum
- 2022Slide and cyanide leak on the same heap; volume declared at 20 m³, calculated by a court expert at 210 m³
- 202413 February: heap slides, nine workers killed; May: expert panel reports exceedances in soil, water and air
- 2026March: SSR Mining agrees to sell 80% to Cengiz Holding for about $1.49bn; April: seventh hearing, expert's commercial tie to the company raised; 24 July: one-year temporary operating certificate; trial adjourned to 11 November
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
The ministry accepted the company's declaration even on the leak volume.
MedyascopeThe ministry does not decide capacity; the EIA only examines environmental impacts (paraphrase, 2024).
The public officials who approved the EIA were at fault.
NTVThere was bribery and EIA manipulation in the Çöpler licence (his statement; no conviction recorded).
bianetHow it looked
Shown
- The cyanide leak in 2022 was 20 m³.The governorate and the company (as reported by Medyascope) · Medyascope
Recorded
- A court-site expert calculated the 2022 cyanide leak at 210 m³, not 20 m³.
- Medyascope reported that the ministry accepted the company's declaration even on the volume of the 2022 leak.
- An expert panel found exceedances of some values in soil, groundwater, surface water and air (May 2024).
- According to the expert panel, as reported by Medyascope, the EIA approval was given despite exceedances of limit values.
- Nine workers died in the heap collapse on 13 February 2024.
- Trial: 43 defendants before the Erzincan 1st High Criminal Court; an expert report found the officials who approved the EIA at fault; hearing adjourned to 11 November 2026.
- The ministry issued a one-year temporary operating certificate on 24 July 2026.
- After the collapse a journalist was investigated under the disinformation provision (the sources reviewed).
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- tr-environment-ministry (2024): Murat Kurum said in 2024 that the ministry does not decide capacity and that the EIA only examines environmental impacts (paraphrase from the sources reviewed).
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- OngoingÇöpler heap collapse criminal trialErzincan 1st High Criminal Court · Criminal · Prosecution and victims' families → 43 accused (charged)
The 43 defendants are charged with causing the death and injury of several people through negligence and with polluting the environment through negligence. They are accused and no verdict has been given. The seventh hearing was held in April 2026 and the case was adjourned to 11 November 2026. NTV
- 2026–OngoingAnnulment applications against the temporary operating certificateNot specified in the sources reviewed · Administrative · Not specified in the sources reviewed → The ministry that issued the certificate
the sources reviewed record annulment applications against the one-year temporary operating certificate issued on 24 July 2026.
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Disputed How much cyanide solution leaked in 2022?
Accounts
Record
- None on record the sources reviewed give two dates for the next hearing: 11 November 2026 (NTV and the sources reviewed) and 20 October 2026 (an earlier entry); the 11 November date is used because it appears in the NTV headline and in the detailed entry.
- None on record The measured values and the sites sampled in the May 2024 expert panel report are not on record.
- None on record A network of 181 accounts denied the leak and discredited a person who opposed the mine; a link to the company was not proven (Medyascope, March 2024).
- None on record Former Erzincan chief prosecutor İlhan Cihaner said there was bribery and EIA manipulation in the Çöpler licence; no conviction on this is recorded.
- Disputed Expert reports on the 2024 collapse are described in the sources reviewed as conflicting; the details are not on record.
- None on record Amount of compensation to victims' families: not on record.
Did the harm stop?
The ministry issued a one-year temporary operating certificate on 24 July 2026; the sources reviewed does not record completion of any clean-up.
Who paid?
The nine workers who died and their families; the sources reviewed give no compensation figures.
Sources
Company or project
- SSR Mining completes the sale of the Çöpler mineSSR Mining · 2026-06-24
Press and investigations
- SSR Mining sells Çöpler mine stake for $1.5BMining.com · 2026-03
Connected cases
- Nine die in Çöpler gold mine heap collapse; mine gets temporary operating certificate Türkiye · 2024–2026
- Anagold (Company) — here: Operator of the Çöpler mine; there: Operator of the Çöpler mine
- SSR Mining (Company) — here: 80% owner of Anagold until the 2026 sale; there: Former 80% owner; sold its stake in 2026
- Cengiz Holding (Company) — here: Buyer of the 80% stake (2026); there: Bought the 80% stake in 2026
- Aydın geothermal plants and fig orchards (Sarı Zeybek, Çamköy, Germencik) Turkey · 2022–2026
- Turkish environment ministry (Government) — here: EIA approvals and operating certificates; there: Ministry and provincial directorate
- Turkish holdings' coal expansion alongside renewables (Cenal, Akbelen, İçdaş) Türkiye · 2021–2026
- Cengiz Holding (Company) — here: Buyer of the 80% stake (2026); there: Owner of the Cenal imported-coal plant