While the world’s traditional mining markets struggle through the trough of a mining cycle, Turkey has emerged as a rare story of growth, offering a compelling jurisdiction to international mining investors in pursuit of friendlier skies. To date, the country has not shown huge ore deposits of blockbuster potential; rather its key attractions are economic discoveries ranging across 72 mineral types, situated in an open playing field with attractive incentives and a growing supplier base to assist in low cost project execution.

Aiming to become a top 10 global economy by the 100th anniversary of the Turkish republic in 2023, Turkey has set its sights on reaching $500 billion in exports, $15 billion of which is ear-marked to come from the mineral sector. As the government continues the privatization process that began in the early 2000s, increased production rates and higher profits have benefitted the previously stagnant industry. Today the sector is over 85% privately-held, posting modestly healthy growth rates such as 4.6% in 2012, even as the global mining downturn began. To decrease state control even further, the steadily growing economy is looking to bring its domestic private players to international standards of operation, streamline its still-laggardly bureaucracy and widen the opportunities for foreign juniors to enter the market.