Turkey’s mining sector to outperform most European peers, but risks persist – by Mariaan Webb (MiningWeekly.com – May 31, 2017)

http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Turkey’s mining sector is forecast to be one of the fastest growing in Europe, with the country boasting a “healthy” project pipeline of up to ten new projects, but ongoing political and social unrest has been flagged as a threat to the positive outlook.

Research firm BMI is forecasting average growth of 6.8% a year in Turkey’s mining sector over the next five years, with the country set to outperform all other European countries, except for Finland.

In an ‘Industry Trend Analysis’ report, published on Tuesday, BMI identifies gold and copper as the “clear growth bright spots”, forecasting gold production growth of 4.8% year-on-year between 2017 and 2021.

BMI notes that there are up to seven new gold projects currently being developed in Turkey, including Canadian group Centerra Gold’s Oksut openpit mine, which contains reserves of 1.2-million ounces. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has provided a $75-million loan for the construction of the mine.

The copper sector is set to benefit from the investment in gold projects, as they often have the potential to also produce copper. BMI is forecasting copper production growth of 6.8% year-on-year up to 2021.

For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.miningweekly.com/article/turkeys-mining-sector-to-outperform-most-european-peers-but-risks-persist-2017-05-31