Ali Emiroglu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Miners Association, said, “The target of $15 billion of export and 100 tons of gold production for the mining sector is not a dream.”
Ali Emiroglu, Chairman of the Turkish Miners’ Association (TMD), made statements regarding the mining policies in the MTP covering the 2024-2026 period.
Emphasizing that the driving force of realizing a production breakthrough in all sectors will be the production in the mining sector, Emiroglusaid:
“In this context, we must improve the investment environment and enable the mining sector to develop more rapidly. The development of the mining sector in our country will both enable the wheels of our industry, which uses mines as raw materials, to turn rapidly, and also make a significant contribution to reducing the current account deficit by breaking export records for us. The target of $15 billion of export and 100 tons of gold production is not a dream for the mining industry. Anatolian lands carry this resource within themselves. Our country has the human potential, knowledge, experience, resources and potential to do this.”
Emphasizing that as the Turkish mining industry, they contribute approximately $40 billion to the country’s economy together with other related sectors, and said, “The reference to sustainable mining policies in the MTP makes the work we have done so far much more valuable. We will be the biggest supporter of all the steps the public authority will take regarding sustainable mining.”
Pointing out that Turkiye has about 80 of the 90 kinds of minerals and minerals known in the world and 60 of them are produced in the country, Emiroglu said, “As a country rich in mineral diversity, we have the potential to make a difference in our future.”
“Critical minerals are the driving force of the country’s economy”
Emiroglu said about the article in the MTP regarding the increase in the exploration, production and enrichment activities of the determined critical minerals: “The minerals that constitute the raw materials of our industries also constitute the driving force of our country’s economy.”
Emphasizing that critical minerals have an important role especially in green transformation, Emiroglu continued as follows:
“The rapid shift towards renewable energy sources and electric cars both in the world and in our country further increases the importance of the mining sector. It is predicted that electric vehicles will constitute 58% of the global automobile market by 2040. Mines are also very important for electric cars because these vehicles require much more minerals than fossil fuel vehicles.”
“Responsible Mining Initiative”
Emiroglu stated that, as TMD, they do not only focus on increasing the contributions of the mining sector to the economy, but also work to disseminate the responsible mining culture, and in this context, they started the “Responsible Mining Initiative” process.
In this context, Emiroglu stated that they continue to work on four basic principles, namely “Health and Safety”, “Nature and Ecosystem”, “Social Dialogue and Local Development” and “Business Ethics and Transparency”, which are standardized in the international mining industry, and said:
“Our main goal is for all companies operating in the sector to voluntarily act in accordance with these principles. In this way, we will have the opportunity to show the public that mining can be done correctly and safely, with a responsible mining approach.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz