The market value of the Turkey goldfields amounts to 300 billion dollars.
This was announced by Mehmet Yilmaz, head of the Association of Miners in Turkey (TMD). Studies show that the country's gold reserve potential is about 6,500 tons, Yilmaz said. "We know where 1,500 tonnes of these reserves are located and we have already started extracting them.
The remaining 5,000 tons are still underground waiting to be discovered," he said, adding that the market value of these untapped gold reserves is about $300 billion.
Turkey imports about 160-170 tons of gold annually. In 2023, gold imports will amount to $31 billion, while exports of the precious metal will generate revenues of $12 billion, the head of the Turkish Miners' Association noted.
Gold is a major component of both the external and current account deficits of the balance of payments.
In April, the country's current account deficit amounted to 5.29 billion dollars. When gold and energy imports are excluded, the current account balance showed a net deficit of $497 million, the Central Bank announced on June 10.
According to Yilmaz, the total value of mining reserves - including gold, nickel, thorium, boron, coal - is estimated at 3.5 trillion dollars. |BGNES
