MINERAL RESOURCES AND MINING

Transcription

1 MINERAL RESOURCES AND MINING INDUSTRY IN TURKEY Dr. Muammer Oner Abstract In this paper a short survey on the mineral resources, mineral production and mining industry in Turkey, with a particular emphasis on coal, has been given. The survey reveals that Turkey has limited sources of minerals and does not play a significant role in the world mineral industry. Introduction The history of mining in Asia Minor dates back to the ancient times. old manuscripts There is evidence from found in Anatolia that in the year 2000 B. C. Iron was shipped to Egypt from the king of Hittites, the civilization centered in Anatolia at the time. Anatolia is also said to be one of the places where metallic copper was first used. Although the start of mining activities in the region, where Turkey is situated now, dates back to very early times serious and methodical efforts were put into country's mineral resources after the foundation of the Turkish Republic in Two organisations, ETIBANK (National Mineral Bank) and M. T. A. (Mineral Research and Exploration) were established in 1925 and 1935 respectively for the purpose of discovering and utilizing domestic sources of minerals. So far there has been considerable steps forward in geological mapping of the country, discovery and exploitation of mineral deposits. However, most parts of Turkey remain largely unexplored, hence in coming years discovery of new deposits is very likely. Mineral Resources in Turkey Turkey might frequently be stated as a mineral rich country which is a speculative statement rather than analytical. Over 35 different mineral types are known to be present in the country and some 20 types are being produced". Major minerals produced in Turkey with their relative shares in the world reserves and production are listed in Table-1. Some of the types which are known to be present but not utilized are Uranium, Natural gas, Molibdenum, Nickel, Cobalt, Mica, Fluorit, Talc and Graphite. A close study of the table reveals that none of Turkey's mineral reserves except Boron minerals, Mercury, Barite and Tungsten are large enough to have world significance. Boron Minerals Turkey is estimated to have more than 2/3 of the world reserves and is presently the second largest producer of Boron minerals next to the U. S. A. In recent years demand for Colemanite

2 Mineral Resources and Mining Industry in Turkey Table 1. Principal Mineral Resources of Turkey (fuel minerals excluded) * Data compiled from reference 1 ** Data compiled from reference 2 *** Data compiled from reference 3 f Flasks p Pounds contained Tungsten and Ulexite, main Boron minerals produced in Turkey, has decreased but this industry is still the highest profit making mining area and the profits made in the year 1982 balanced all the losses in other mining activities of Etibank. It might be thought that high profits made is due to advanced technology used. On the contrary, processing of Boron minerals is primitive and includes only washeries. Facilities to process concentrated ore into refined borates are present in two location, the one in Kirka is still being behind the schecule for the production. Mercury Mercury is one of the most important minerals mined in Turkey. However, recent restrictions put to the use of Mercury due to environmental concerns together with the lowering prices in the world market reduced the production to the extent that even the major mines are being faced to shut down. Chromite Turkey is one of the foremost producers of chromite ore, although not rich in reserves, and holds a traditional reputation in the world market as a source of high grade metallurgical lump ore and concentrates. Due to the stocks in consuming industries chromite production shows a downward trend in recent years. Magnesite Next to Boron minerals, Mercury and Chromite Manganese occupies an important place in the Turkish mineral production. A promising future lies ahead for this industry with the increasing rates of export of dead-burned magnesia and caustic-calcined magnesia.

3 Muammer Oner Tungsten A new development for Etibank is the production of tungsten concentrate from Scheelite and Wolframite deposits located at Uludag (near Bursa). The start of this development was a joint venture undertaken by Etibank and Union Carbide. However Union Carbide withdrew from the project in 1967 and it was carried out by Etibank and Salzgitter. Both Wolframite and Scheelite are being mined and concentrated at the location although having some problems in mining as well as processing stages. Fuel Minerals After 1950 increasing rate of growth in Turkey meant demands for increasing energy which has been satisfied by importing large volumes of oil from the neighbouring countries. However, the increases in oil prices in 1973 affected the foreign exchange expenditure thus forcing Turkey to decrease her dependence on imported oil and switch to using internally available sources. In Table-2 principal sources of energy used in Turkey are listed with their relative shares in consumption, together with the estimated reserve of each. As clearly seen petroleum accounts for almost 50 0 of the energy consumed half of which is used to produce electricity. Nevertheless, in recent years measures are taken by the government to reduce the use of petroleum and it is announced that the relative share of oil in electricity production in 1981 was only 24% compared to its share of 43.9% in the year 19726). Next to oil, wood and animal wastes are the main sources accounting for about 30% in Table 2. Principal Sources of Energy Used in Turkey After, Cetek, N. * Data compiled from reference 5. Table 3. Relative Use of Coal in Various Sectors

4 Mineral Resources and Mining Industry in Turkey Figure 1. Relative Production of Raw Ma terials Harm of using both for forest and land needs no mentioning. Hard Coal and Lignite are also utilized in Turkey and it is the goverment's policy to increase coal production and balance the deficit arising from the lesser use of oil in thermal power stations. The relative use of hard coal and lignite in various sectors is given in Table-3 where it is clear that high portions are used in power stations. "In the 21st century context of little or no available oil supply non -energy uses for coal would be greater than current coal production. Then even poor quality coals may be too valuable to be burnt"". In the frame of above idea, Turkish Government's policy for the use of coal in power stations has been subjected to serious criticism and it is suggested that Turkey should turn her attention to the use of hydraulic power which is largely present in the country (see Table-2) moreover it is a renewable source. In Figure-1 raw materials are classified into three main groups as Metallic, Non-Metallic and Natural Energy Sources with their relative shares of production in Turkey and in the World. A

5 Muammer Oner close look at the table and those have been said so far may lead to the following conclusions about Turkish mining. -Turkey does not play a significant role in world mining, -Contribution of natural energy sources to Turkish raw material production is 59.1% whereas it is 72.7% for the world. In other words the production of natural energy sources has not received the required interest and this reflects itself in the present energy crises in Turkey. -Petroleum accounts for about 40% of the world's raw material production which is about 20% in Turkey, and this is basically due to her very limited reserves of oil, -Both hard coal and lignite production hold higher rates in Turkey than the world average, -The relative importance of metallic and non-metallic mining in Turkey is higher compared to the world's, this merely stems from the fact that natural energy sources are not rationally exploited. References 1) Uzkut, I. Turkiye yeralti servet olanaklari ve dunyadaki yeni, Ed. by Chamber of Turkish Mining Engineers, 51 pp, Jan ) Minerals Yearbook ) Engineering and Mining Journal, March ) Cetek, N. Komurun ekonomideki yeni ve Zonguldak taskomuru havzasi, Turkish First Coal Congress, p. 23, Ed. by Turkish Coal Board, Jan ) Tamzok, F. Genel enerji talebi icinde linyitlerimizin yen, Turkish Third Coal Congress, p. 233, Ed. by Chamber of Turkish Mining Engineers, May ) Uzkut, I. Turkiye kosullarinda komurden elektrik enerjisi ve sorunlari, ibid, p ) Appleby, A. J. Energy use and society in the 21 st century, Alternative Energy Sources, Vol. 10 p Ed. by T. Nejat Veziroglu Published by Hemisphere Pub. Corp., 1978

6 * Data compiled from reference 1 ** Data compiled from reference 2 *** Data compiled from reference 3 f Flasks p Pounds contained Tungsten

7 Muammer Oner After, Cetek, N. * Data compiled from reference 5. After, Cetek N.

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