Türkiye’s untapped gold reserves worth $300 billion: Association

ISTANBUL

The market value of Türkiye’s untapped gold reserves is estimated at $300 billion, according to Mehmet Yılmaz, the head of the Miners’ Association of Türkiye (TMD).

The studies show that the country’s gold reserve potential is around 6,500 tons, Yılmaz said.

“We know where 1,500 tons of those reserves are located, and we have already started to extract them. The remaining 5,000 tons are still underground, waiting to be unearthed,” he said, adding that the market value of those untapped gold reserves is around $300 billion.

The Turkish gold mining industry’s annual production capacity is 35,000 tons, and the country imports some 160 to 170 tons of gold per year, according to Yılmaz.

In 2023, gold imports amounted to $31 billion, while the export of the precious metal generated $12 billion in revenues, he noted.

The industry aims to produce 50,000 tons of gold in the short term and to boost its output to 100,000 tons in the later phases, Yılmaz said.

Gold is a major component of both the foreign and the current account deficits.

In April, the country’s current account deficit was $5.29 billion. When gold and energy imports were excluded, the current account balance indicated a net deficit of $497 million, the Central Bank said on June 10.

The total value of the mining reserves — including gold, nickel, thorium, boron, coal and trona — is estimated at $3.5 trillion, according to Yılmaz.

The mining sector needs an independent oversight mechanism and definite inspection standards for the industry must be established, he also said.