ECO-TURKEY

Ida Mountains resist Cengiz Holding

26 August 2024 an expert examination and discovery was carried out in the Yanıklar village of Bayramiç District in the Ida Mountains within the scope of the lawsuit filed for the cancellation of the "EIA Not Required" decision of the "Feldspar Quarry in the Field with License Number 20050053" project belonging to Cengiz Holding - Truva Bakır Madencilik Co. Inc.. Among the plaintiffs, Ida Mountains Natural and Cultural Heritage Preservation Association, TEMA Foundation and the majority of the 24 plaintiffs living in the region were present at the discovery.

Yanıklar, Osmaniye, Yaylacık villagers, Bayramiç residents, Ida Mountains Natural and Cultural Heritage Preservation Association members and çanakkale Bar Association Environment Commission lawyers welcomed the expert delegation with banners and slogans at the entrance of the village. With the delegation entering the village:

"Don't touch my air, my water, my land",
"Get out of Ida Mountains, Cengiz",
"The outside of Ida Mountains is more valuable than the inside",
"Yallah Cengiz Yallah, Kish Kish Cengiz Kish Kish!"

In their statements, the plaintiffs pointed out serious deficiencies and errors in the project introduction file, which formed the basis for the decision "EIA is not required". In particular, Süheyla Doğan, chairwoman of the board of directors of the Ida Mountains Natural and Cultural Heritage Preservation Association, declared that the project promotion was essentially deceiving:

"We don't mine copper, we just collect pebbles"

Doğan stated that the project was not actually a feldspar project, but was a part of Cengiz Holding's Halilağa Copper(!) Mine Project, and presented a technical report containing evidence on this matter and prepared by the first owners of the project, Pilot Gold and Fronteer Resorces. Stating that the report also includes the operating license of the project in question, Doğan said, "The promotional file of this project has been deliberately and incorrectly constructed from beginning to end. The public is being tried to be deceived. Public institutions are also party to this situation."

Stating that all mining companies apply similar methods and procedures, Doğan said, "First, Project Introduction Files are prepared with EIA areas under 25 hectares for mines such as feldspar, quartz and halloysite, the EIA Regulation provides action according to the ANNEX-2 list, and the companies enter the field by obtaining Working License and Operating Permit in a short time, then changing the mine type and capacity. It reveals its real projects with its increases." she said.

(News Source: Ida Mountains Natural and Cultural Heritage Preservation Association)