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Exploring TURKEY T urkey has a population of about 70 million people. The country has a long mining history – over 9,000 years. In recent times, a number of foreign companies have focused on mineral exploration in Turkey, which hosts over 50 different mineral commodities, the main ones being gold, silver, chromium, boron and copper. Why Turkey? "Turkey's got great geology and it's underexplored," Steve Williams, President and CEO of Pasinex Resources Ltd. told Resource World. "The major reason the country is under-explored is the vast amount of mining property licenses held by families and small businesses. There are 43,000 property licenses in Turkey and 35,000 of them were in the hands of families and small businesses. Consequently, there was little exploration carried out." 38 www.resourceworld.com Williams said that today the Turkish government is very pro business and wishes to foster mine development. "I don't think nationalization is a risk in Turkey," Williams remarked. "In the last 10 years, there have been 10 gold mines opened in Turkey." In total, there are some 30 companies exploring for gold in Turkey, the majority of them being foreign-based. The Turkish government has instituted a 'use it or lose it' policy when it comes to mineral properties. "The population of Turkey is spread across the entire country, so there's excellent infrastructure," said Williams. "The government has spent billions of dollars in the last few years improving the road system and doubling highways everywhere. Turkey also has lots of hydro electric Left to right, Ismail Samsa, Geologist, Pasinex Resources; Clinton Smyth VP - Exploration Pasinex Resources, and Osman Ince, Geologist, Pasinex Resources, exploring the Hozum Zinc Project in the province of Adana. Photo courtesy Pasinex Resources Limited. power. In addition, they're about to build a new national airport in Istanbul." Williams notes that the influx of refugees has not affected mineral exploration. "I was there a few weeks ago and there's no sense of any of those issues. Yes, there's a problem at the border, but it's restricted to there and there is no sense of it impacting the overall functioning and the overall mood of Turkey." Below is a selection of various mines and mineral exploration projects in Turkey. Alacer Gold Corp. [ASR-TSX; AQGDECEMBER 2012/JANUARY 2013