Turkish gold production peaks at $800 mln in 2010

TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL- The total value of gold extracted from mines across Turkey totaled close to $800 million in 2010, continuing its upward trend since 2001, with two new mines expected to almost double production by the end of this year.

According to recent data from the Gold Miners Association (AMD), there are five gold mining companies operating in Turkey that have extracted 17 tons of gold with a value of $800 million. A total of 8.6 out of 17 tons of gold have been extracted from the Kışladağ gold mine in the Aegean province of Uşak.

Furthermore, the AMD data show that 4.2 tons and 3.7 tons of gold were extracted from the Mastra mine in Gümüşhane and Bergama Ovacık in İzmir, respectively. The remaining half ton of gold was extracted from both the İliç gold mine in Erzincan and the Salihli-Sart mine in the province of Manisa. The production of gold in Turkey started in 2001, with the amount extracted increasing yearly. The total amount of gold mined 10 years ago was only 1.4 tons, while it rose to eight tons in 2006, 11 tons in 2008, 14.5 tons in 2009 and 17 in 2010, bringing the total amount extracted since 2001 close to 82 tons.

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, AMD’s General Coordinator Muhterem Köse said the total gold extracted in Turkey is only 10 percent of the total deposit. Köse noted that the gold mining sector has been in the spotlight in the last few years.

Experts say Turkey’s total underground gold resources are estimated at 6,500 tons.

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Posted by WoodlawnPost on Jan 17 2011. Filed under Commodities, Middle East, Mining. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.