Turkish court closes Eldorado’s Kisladag operations

Eldorado Gold has reported that it Kisladag project has suffered a significant and unanticipated setback.

Kisladag is expected to become Turkey’s largest gold mine when full production is achieved but the Turkish administrative court has granted a temporary injunction requiring operations to be closed within 30 days.

The move is to allow time for a court decision on the validity of the mine’s environmental impact assessment.

Eldorado Gold, which is based in Vancouver, has been engaged in a three-year legal battle with attorneys in Turkey, who have been instructed by an as yet unidentified environmental organization that wants to stop the growth of gold mining in the country.

Eldorado maintains that the case being brought does not reflect local opinion; Kisladag employs 270 company and 310 contract employees in rural western Turkey.

Whilst the company is also convinced that it does not have an issue with the Turkish government, which regards Kisladag as a success story, national elections are taking place on July 22.

These are widely considered to be the most important general elections in two decades and political changes could have an effect on mining regulations and permits.

Kisladag is an open pit heap leach gold mine and is the largest cash flow generator for Eldorado.
It could be shut from between 30 and 90 days, depending on how long it takes the Turkish court to reconvene after its summer recess.