ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — A Turkish gold mine where nine workers died in a landslide in February said Monday it was laying off nearly 200 staff, sparking outrage among unions.

The Anagold company blamed a “difficult economic situation” caused by the shutdown for its decision to make 187 staff redundant at the Copler mine in Erzincan province, about 600 kilometers (375 miles) east of Ankara, which employs 667 miners.

A torrent of mud swept through the mine in February, trapping nine workers. The mine’s environmental licence was later taken away.

The Bagmsiz Maden Is union said that Anagold, which is 80 percent owned by US-Canadian concern SSR Mining, should pay for its “safety deficiencies”.

“The conditions that provoked the withdrawal of the licence were created by Anagold and the exploitation of the mine, because of the environmental consequences, makes another source of revenue impossible in this district,” the union’s lawyer, Mert Batur, told AFP.

“Anagold should continue to bear the economic cost of its actions and pay the salaries of its workers,” the lawyer added.

According to a preliminary report on the deaths in February, reported by Turkish media, mine managers did not take the necessary safety measures after cracks appeared in mountains of earth that caused the disaster.

Six mine officials were taken into detention.

The mine made headlines in 2022 when there was a cyanide leak that forced a brief halt in its operations. Anagold reopened the mine after paying a fine, despite protests.