Alamos Gold reported that the Turkish High Administrative Court has overturned a lower court ruling that canceled permits granted to Alamos by the Ministry of the Environment and Urbanization. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate for the Kirazli gold project has now been reinstated.
The ministry previously signed and issued formal approval in the form of an EIA Positive Decision Certificate for Kirazli in August 2013. In January 2014, the Canakkale Administrative Court (the lower court) granted an injunction and subsequently canceled the ministry’s approval of the EIA due to the lack of a cumulative impact assessment. The EIA for the Kirazli project was done to the highest standard and the lower court’s basis for the injunction did not relate to concerns with any technical aspect of the project. The ministry appealed the decision to the high court and in parallel, the company completed a cumulative impact assessment for Kirazli to address the concerns of the lower court. It was subsequently approved by the ministry and submitted to the high court. The high court has now overturned the lower court’s ruling, reinstating the ministry’s approval of the Kirazli EIA.
“This follows a number of positive developments in Turkey this year, including the dismissal of the injunction against our Agi Dagi EIA, the passing of a new, and in our view, progressive mining law, and a recent reduction in forestry fees. We look forward to advancing the Kirazli project toward production. With strong economics, this will be our next low-cost gold mine,” said John A. McCluskey, president and CEO, Alamos Gold.
