Old statements by Alamos Gold CEO misrepresented in light of recent mining accident

By: Emincan Yüksel
March 4 2024

Share Article:

Context

An image circulating on social media claims that Alamos Gold CEO John McCluskey made statements about the company's investments, revenues, and employees regarding gold mines in Türkiye following a recent mining accident in Erzincan, Türkiye

The image includes a purported statement by McCluskey, reading, "We invested 100 million dollars for the gold mines in Türkiye, extracted 85 tons of gold in a short time, and earned 4 billion dollars. In Türkiye’s high inflation environment, we do all the labor in [Turkish Lira]. The gold is left to us, the cyanide is left to the Turks. It is a very sweet job. CEO of Alamos Gold (translated from Turkish)."

The image circulating on social media. (Source: X/Screenshot)

Last month, a gold mining accident occurred in Erzincan, Türkiye, leading to widespread news and misinformation concerning gold mines, companies, investments, workers, previous mining incidents, and the use of cyanide and other chemicals. We have previously published a fact-check on this accident.

Misleading information about gold mining continues to circulate on social media in the U.K., including this post. The accident occurred in the Çöpler Gold Mine in Erzincan, operated by Anagold Mining, which is a joint-venture corporation of the American company SSR Mining. This site is not located near any of the Alamos Gold-operated sites, which are in three different locations in the west of Türkiye, around the Kaz Mountains in the Çanakkale district, specifically Kirazlı, Ağı Dağı, and Çamyurt.

Alamos Gold and SSR Mining Operations in Türkiye. (Source: SSR Mining/Alamos Gold/Screenshots/Annotated by Logically Facts)

However, while the claims that the company invested 100 million dollars in Türkiye and that employees are paid salaries in Turkish Lira are true, he said nothing about extraction, revenue, or cyanide. He also stated that his comments were distorted in the media and did not reflect reality.

In fact

Searches for "Alamos Gold" and "John McCluskey" show that in August 2018, he made statements about the company's mining projects in Türkiye on the Canadian finance TV channel, BNN Bloomberg. The posts circulating on social media stem from these statements.

During the TV broadcast, McCluskey said that, as shared in the claim, the company had invested one hundred million dollars in Türkiye over the last nine years. Additionally, the CEO announced the discovery of a gold reserve of 3 million ounces in the region, indicating that production would start soon and continue for 15 years.

The viral social media post falsely claims that 85 tons of gold were extracted, worth 4 billion dollars in revenue. Contrary to these claims, McCluskey never stated that the company earned 4 billion dollars or extracted 85 tons of gold. The actual value of the discovered 3 million ounces of gold at that time was approximately 3.6 billion dollars.

Alamos Gold CEO John McCluskey on BNN Bloomberg. (Source: BNN Bloomberg/Screenshot)

In the remainder of the video, regarding workers being paid in Turkish Lira, McCluskey highlighted that changes in Türkiye’s exchange rates reduced the company's costs and stated that foreign employment would not be pursued in the mines in Türkiye.

In a 2019 appearance on BNN Bloomberg's program titled "Alamos CEO: We've been misrepresented in the Turkish media," McCluskey again spoke about projects in Türkiye. He stated that his comments made during a 2018 broadcast were distorted by Turkish NGOs and clarified that Türkiye is indeed a great country for investment, boasting skilled expertise in mining and infrastructure.

McCluskey's defense against the distortion of his statements and the misinformation spread about them was also reported by various media platforms, including Reuters.

The verdict

Old statements McCluskey made in 2018 have been misrepresented and recirculated following a mining incident in Türkiye that was unrelated to Alamos Gold. The claims that McCluskey stated the company invested 100 million dollars in Türkiye and that employees are paid in Turkish Lira are true. However, he said nothing about extraction, revenue, or cyanide. He has also stated that his comments were distorted in the media and did not reflect the truth. Therefore, we have marked this claim as misleading.