Has privatization anything to do with this? I only see a lack of security measures and authoritarianism. There would be a lack of security measures if those mines were run by the government too.
In Turkey's case, mass privatization meant, as the prime sinister has always been daftly pointing out, ridding the state of a lot of burden (state-insured employment, audits, what little cost there was to run them etc.). Ffs, those shameless bastards privatized even hundreds of small streams in a country where, despite the abundance of water sources, availability of potable water is becoming a growing concern every single day.
They privatized the entire telecommunication system to one single company, which has almost no alternatives and does not give a single damn about your internet connection issues.
Do you really expect them to care at all about security measures and the likes of that? They certified that goddamned mine. They found it to be suitable for operation. Do you think they were presented with a safe environment to begin with? Of course not. It was "scratch my back and I'll scratch yours". That bundle of sticks hands out bags of coal to poverty-stricken citizens fresh out of that very mine and scores of others in return for their votes.
For the last ten years I doubt that even a single public bid went unrigged. The recent wiretapped calls from earlier this year prove how he discusses how much "lion's share" that bastard wants from a specific bid. Courts award verdicts against constructions in natural sites. The cabinet quickly promises them that environmental impact assessments and such trivial stuff don't matter at all. Constructions start and go on despite verdicts.
You could say it is authoritarianism and unprecendented corruption. But privatization was what allowed him to grow this shameless. It was also what attracted buttlicking liberalist's votes (no offense anybody, I am strictly talking about the Turkish liberalist front here). Under the former good old public model, there was no way he could cause so much damage. So, it is the goddamn privatization indeed.