Turkish high court rejects cancelation of copper mine in Black Sea's Cerattepe

Turkey's Council of State has approved a local court decision on a major copper mine in the Black Sea province of Artvin, a project that has triggered strong reactions and protests by locals and environmentalists.

After an application by the Green Artvin Association to cancel the project, the top court ruled there was no need for the cancelation of it.

This verdict contradicted a decision in 2013 by the Council of State, abolishing an Environmental Impact Assessment (ÇED) report by the Environment and Urban Planning Ministry, which approved the construction of the mine in the Cerattepe region of the Kafkasör highland.

The Rize Administrative Court turned back a demand for the cancelation of the project in October 2016 in a verdict in line with the ÇED report.

The court ruled in favor of the ministry's report about the mining activities slated to be carried out by a mining company, rejecting the request for the cancellation of the report lodged by 751 plaintiffs and their 61 lawyers. 

It also said that even in areas such as national parks, culture and tourism preservation sites and development regions, as well as touristic areas, it was possible to engage in mining activities because the planned mine was "not located within the banned areas."

Cerattepe is 660 meters away from the park boundary, meaning it is not under the control of the tourism preservation and development area. 

An expert report by academics from the Karadeniz Technical University (KTÜ) played a major role in the court decision.

The report said 500,000 tons of copper per year that will be extracted from the mine would be carried in closed-cabin cable cars, in a bid to cut down on environmentally hazardous effects.

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