The Çöpler gold mine, located near Iliç, Türkiye, experienced a large slip on its heap leach
pad on February 12, which created a massive landslide.
(Photo: Demiroren News Agency (DHA))

The Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office arrested six SSR managers, including Cengiz Demirci, senior vice president-operations for SSR Mining, as it investigated the massive leach pad failure. Demirci and another manager were released under judicial control several hours later. In a press release, SSR acknowledged that several of its team members are facing charges in relation to the recent incident, and the company was ensuring they receive the necessary support while respecting the legal process.

The Çöpler gold mine, located near Iliç, Türkiye, experienced a large slip on its heap leach pad on February 12. At the time, SSR Executive Chairman Rod Antal described the tragic situation as developing and said the company’s first priority was the safety of its people and containment. “Operations have been suspended,” Antal said. “Once we complete our initial emergency response protocols onsite, we will be able to provide more details on the back of that.”

The Çöpler mine is SSR’s flagship operation and it produced 220,999 ounces (oz) of the company’s total 706,894 oz of gold production in 2023. The operation leaches oxide ore using cyanide and smelts sulphide ore. Prior to the failure, SSR said it expected Çöpler to produce 200,000 to 220,000 oz in 2024 with 40,000 oz attributed to heap leach production.