Massive gold deposits have been discovered in Turkey weighing 99 tonnes and worth more than GDPs of many countries.
According to Turkish news agency Anadolu, the total value of the gold is pegged at more than USD 6 billion or Rs 44,000 crore.
As per Worldometer, the GDP of Maldives is 4.87 billion dollars, Liberia is 3.29 billion dollars, Bhutan is 2.53 billion dollars, Burundi is 3.17 billion dollar and Lesotho 2.58 billion dollars.
Similarly, countries like Mauritania, Montenegro, Barbados and Guyana have economies smaller than the gold found in Turkey.
The gold deposits were discovered in Sogut in central west Turkey. Chief of the Agricultural Credit Cooperatives of Turkey Gubretas Fertiliser Production firm Fahrettin Poyraz confirmed to Turkish media that the gold is worth more than USD 6 billion.
Turkey has increased its gold production over the last few years. Faith Donmez, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources in Turkey, had said in September that the country has broken its own record by producing 38 tonnes gold. The next target for Turkey, for the next five years, is to increase its annual gold production to 100 tonnes, he added.
The gold found in Sogut will be mined in the next two years. Gubretas Fertiliser Producer and another unnamed company won the site in 2019 after a court order. Gubretas Fertiliser Producer’s share price jumped by 10 per cent following the discovery of the gold.
PNN
