MTA says Turkey has $2.5 trillion-mineral reserves

Turkey has possible mineral reserves around 2.5 trillion USD, the mineral research directorate said on Monday.

Monday, 26 October 2009 13:32



Turkey has possible mineral reserves around 2.5 trillion USD, the mineral research directorate said on Monday.

Turkey's Directorate General of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) carried out a research on possible reserves of Turkey, and said 77 of 90 different types of minerals traded in the world were located in Turkey.

According to the directorate's research, the market value of those minerals is around 2.5 trillion USD.

The highest mineral reserve Turkey has is dolomite. Turkey has 15.8 billion tons of dolomite, which is among the indispensable element of glass and ceramic industry.

Also, Turkey has 13.9 billion tons of marble, 12.3 billion tons of lignite coal, 5.7 billion tons of rock salt, 1.2 billion tons of charcoal, 3 billion tons of boron, 1.5 billion tons of pumice, 1.9 billion tons of copper ores.

There are also 29.6 million tons of asbestos, 82 million tons of asphaltite, 35 million tons of barite, 251 million tons of bentonite, 1.6 billion tons of bituminous schist, 88 million tons of bauxite, 3.8 million tons of mercury, 380,000 tons of thorium, 233 million tons of trona (natural mineral water), 9,137,000 tons of uranium, 345 million tons of zeolite, and 4 million tons of manganese in Turkey.

The researches also indicate that there are 700 tons of visible gold reserves (6,500 tons possible reserves) and 1,926 tons of visible silver reserves in Turkey.

According to the research, 0.5 percent of overall mineral reserves in the world are situated in Turkey. Also 2.5 percent of industrial crude reserves, 1 percent of coal reserves and 0.8 percent of geothermal reserves are located in Turkey.

Turkey also owns 40 percent of the world natural stone potential, and 72 percent of overall boron reserves. Thus, Turkey can meet the boron consumption of the world at least for 400 years.

Established in 1935, the Directorate General of Mineral Research and Exploration is responsible of carrying out the necessary studies, chemical and technological analysis, in order to search and to find our country's mining and stone beds, and then to determine whether they are appropriate for operation or not, and at the same time to educate engineers, assisting personnel and qualified employers for the sector.


AA

http://worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=49017

Many African countries also have rich mineral reserves.

If we can't "take them out" and "sell them", what's the use?

Also, our latest mining laws favour the foreign companies rather than the Turkish state.

Turkey has a lot of gold, but it's the Australian gold mining companies which get the "cream", leaving us with the crumbs of the potential revenues.

"Turkey has a lot of gold, but it's the Australian gold mining companies which get the "cream", leaving us with the crumbs of the potential revenues."

Do you have any facts to back that assessment up?

As an FYI, I believe that Turkey demands a 30% royalty on all natural resource operations...which is pretty high when compared to other nations, which may explain why no one is rushing to extract Turkish resources.

You might want to read this...

http://www.cakmak.av.tr/pdf/28519_3.pdf

I loved the last paragraph...

The New Law appears to be more focused on regulating small entrepreneurs and
speculators through bureaucratic control rather than on modernising the code to encourage
large private investments. The investors expectation from a modern mining law is its ability
to regulate mineral operations with simple and clear laws that provide them with free access
to mineral resources through transparent processes, secure tenure, transferable rights, and
operational and commercial freedom. Turkeys New Law does not have such a standard and
clarity, and the multiple-licence issue is contradictory to investors expectations.

It appears the Turkish national government is more interested in screwing their small business folks than attracting large foreign investments...way to go!

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"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it."
George Bernard Shaw

Turkey's currently running many R&D projects on Boron-based technologies, including an add-on armor for the upcoming Altay MBT.

One of Turkey's many Boron end product manufacturers, Bortek, is located in Eskisehir:

http://www.borteknolojileri.com/eng_index.html

Turk Bir Dev

If it wasn't profitable, the Australians wouldn't rush to Bergama for the gold mines.