▲Residents of Soyudlu confront riot police at a protest against the nearby dumping of mine waste. Image via social media.
The Azerbaijani Government has greenlit the expansion of an artificial lake for acid mine drainage at a gold mine near the village of Soyudlu. The village remains under lockdown following the dispersal of protests there last year.
Construction of a second lake was halted in 2023 and mining work suspended after footage was widely shared online of riot police clashing with local residents, including elderly women, who were protesting the plans.
On Monday, British mining firm Anglo Asian Mining announced that the Azerbaijan International Mining Company had received authorisation from the Government of Azerbaijan to expand the existing drainage lake.
Satellite imagery of the Gedabek gold mine and nearby village of Soyudlu via CNES/Airbus
Anglo Asian Mining owns 49% of the Azerbaijani International Mining Company, with the Azerbaijani government holding a 51% stake.
Anglo Asian Mining CEO Reza Vaziri said the company was ‘delighted to have finally received authorisation’, and that construction work would begin immediately. He added that the company expected to ‘recommence full production in approximately one week’.
‘This marks the end of a year-long disruption, and we look forward to normalising production’, he added.
Soyudlu has remained under police cordon for over a year, with police controlling who can and cannot enter. It followed the dispersal by police with tear gas and pepper spray of over a hundred local residents who were protesting against the mine. Several journalists and residents of the village faced arrest and fines following the incident.
Soyudlu lies around 340 kilometres west of Baku in the Gadabey District.
A source from Gadabey District, granted anonymity due to security concerns, told OC Media that an environment of fear persisted in the village a year after the clash with police.
‘Until now, people whisper with each other when they speak about the cyanide lake and last year’s protest — but mainly they try to keep silent ’ they told OC Media.
‘The village still lives under police lockdown. At several entrances and exits the police have made checkpoints, and check the people who would like to enter the village’, they said.
‘I remember this year, 15 minutes after entering the village, the head of the municipality came after me and asked the villagers for information about me, [asking] “who is this person, and why did they come here?” ’
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