They will sell what they cannot mine to companies
They will sell what they cannot mine to companies
TREES, PLAINS AND RESERVOIRS UNDER THREAT
According to information published by MAPEG:
- Reforestation areas within the sites in Balıkesir, Maraş, Malatya and Osmaniye, •Reservoirs within the sites in Balıkesir and Eskişehir,
- A large plain within the site in Afyon,
- wind farm areas in the sites in Balıkesir, Gümüşhane, Kırklareli, Malatya and Tekirdağ,
- hydroelectric power plant areas in the sites in Adana and Çorum. Furthermore,
- One site in Mardin intersects with a railway line,
- Sites in Şırnak and Balıkesir intersect with roads,
- The site in Çorum intersects with motorway projects,
- Whilst sites in Afyon, Burdur, Çankırı, Gümüşhane, Mersin, Şırnak and Tekirdağ intersect with power transmission lines.
Furthermore, some sites are situated in areas overlapping with natural gas pipelines.
THE LION’S SHARE GOES TO METALLIC MINING
Of the 115 sites categorised into different mineral groups, the largest share—60 sites—belongs to Group II minerals, followed by Group IV minerals with 49 sites. Three Group I sites in Bilecik, Bingöl and Burdur, and three Group III sites in Niğde and Sivas were included in the tender. The largest areas, measured in hectares, were also allocated to Group IV mining sites. The list shows that Group IV sites have significantly larger areas compared to the other groups. In contrast, the other sites were generally recorded as being around 100 hectares. Consequently, Group IV licences accounted for the largest areas on the list. These sites, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 hectares, pave the way for gold, silver, copper, iron and lead mining. Due to metallic mining activities involving high-risk chemicals, particularly cyanide, these vast catchment areas face the risk of further ecological devastation. The reserve prices for the sites included in the tender ranged from 1,443,688 TL to 18,046,100 TL. The highest reserve price on the list was for the only site to include the word ‘gold’. The site in Rize, covering approximately 415 hectares, is situated within the General Directorate of the Turkish Geological Survey’s (MTA) prospecting area for gold, copper, lead and zinc. The reserve price for the site was set at 18,046,100 TL.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Yakamadığını da şirketlere satacak, published in BirGün newspaper on August 5, 2026.
