Operation of the "Seyudlu" field will be temporarily suspended – Minister

Baku/12.07.23/Turan: The operation of the gold deposit in Seyudlu will be temporarily suspended. At the same time, the involved international company will assess the impact of the mine on the environment, the head of the government commission, Minister of Ecology Mukhtar Babayev told today. 

"There was concern about the high level of pollutants in the air in the village of Seyudlu of the Gedabey region. However, the studies conducted on the first day of the commission's activity revealed that the level of pollutants does not exceed the norm," Babayev said. According to him, medical examinations of local residents were carried out.

"There were those who refused the examination. There were some who were examined in hospital conditions. According to information from the Ministry of Health, from the point of view of health, residents have no serious impact on the body," Babayev said.

Moreover, according to the Minister, the incidence rate in Seyudlu is lower than the average for the Gedabey  region. "And this means that cases of diseases are not associated with waste from the enterprise," the minister further noted.

According to him, in 86 points where measurements were carried out, it was revealed that the indicators for the radiation background, toxic substances and other parameters were normal.

Babayev admitted that the creation of an artificial lake for collecting toxic waste in the vicinity of rivers was not coordinated with the relevant structures.:

"There was no unified plan to create a unified monitoring system, important measures were not taken to minimize the effects of cyanides and other heavy metals, eliminate odors in the environment. The necessary barriers have not been installed around the lake," Babayev said.

He said that an international company has been involved to assess the situation at this landfill, which will begin operations at the end of June.  The operating company was asked to temporarily suspend the operation of the field.

In general, if the operating company in the Union does not take the necessary actions, then the distribution of the equity participation of the owners of the company may be revised.

It should be noted that the minister held a briefing after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev criticized him the day before in connection with inactivity against the background of pollution of the environment by the gold mining enterprise.

The "Seyudlu" deposit is operated by Anglo Asian Mining PLC, which is registered in the UK with the participation of U.S. citizen Reza Vaziri, owner of RV Investments Group Services LLC.

In 1997, the Government of Azerbaijan signed a contract with RV Investments Group Services LLC to grant rights to develop a number of ore deposits, including "Seyudlu." ---0---