Mining License Applications Should Be Expedited

Mining License Applications Should Be Expedited Ege Maden İhracatçıları Birliği Management Board Chairman İbrahim Alimoğlu called for faster processing of license applications, noting that there are permit requests in Bergama that have remained unresolved for 5 years. Miners from the Aegean region, who brought USD 1.2 billion in foreign currency to Turkey in 2022, are pooling their resources to maintain export levels in 2023, despite the recession.

Ege Maden İhracatçıları Birliği held its Regional Consultation Meetings in Bergama, the granite capital.

Ege Maden İhracatçıları Birliği Management Board first visited granite facilities in Bergama, then met with Bergama-based miners at the "Mining Sector Consultation Meeting." Ege Maden İhracatçıları Birliği Management Board Chairman İbrahim Alimoğlu highlighted Bergama's status as Turkey's 13th and Izmir's first UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its historical and cultural values, and emphasized that Bergama stands out for its valuable mineral reserves in addition to its historical significance. Alimoğlu stated, "Bergama achieved USD 21 million in natural stone exports in 2022."

Mining license applications should be expedited

Chairman Alimoğlu, expressing their goal to strike a balance between nature and mining through social consensus and awareness, and to convert the country's underground ores into wealth, continued as follows: "By effectively applying environmentally friendly and technological practices, we can achieve sustainable mining. The only thing we need for this is to remain in communication with the relevant Ministry and Local Authorities, our associations and chambers. Unlike what is commonly believed, mining is strictly monitored according to regulations and goes through challenging permit processes. Under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation, mining projects are divided into two categories as Annex-1 and Annex-2 based on the size of the project site and the type of project. Both reports are prepared after strict inspections in which experts from relevant institutions participate. Although miners in our region have met Annex-2 report requirements since 2018, due to an obligation imposed by the Provincial Environment Directorate, they have been forced to apply to Ankara for Annex-1 reports. Due to natural site studies in our region, there are 7 licenses that applied for Annex-1 for the first time in the EIA process and have been waiting unresolved since 2018, and we also know that there are 3 licenses that applied for capacity increase but did not receive a result. Mining license applications should be expedited." Ege Maden İhracatçıları Birliği TİM General Assembly Delegate and Bergama Granite Producers Association Chairman Burak Ürper stated that mines play a major role in humanity's development, 70 out of 90 types of minerals are extracted in Turkey, and according to MTA data, Turkey ranks 28th among 132 countries in mineral reserves. Ürper mentioned that Bergama has perlite, iron, gold, coal and granite operations, and there are 35 granite facilities, stating, "The granite facilities in Bergama employ between 1,500 and 2,000 people while generating USD 35 million in exports."