(Kitco News) – Türkiye is working to establish a national mining exchange aimed at expanding financing options and increasing price transparency in the sector, according to the Turkish Miners Association (TMD).
TMD chairman Mehmet Yilmaz told local reporters on Monday that they expect to receive regulatory approval in short order, and the exchange is planned to launch in calendar year 2026.
"The mining exchange aims to create a more predictable market depth for producers and investors, while providing a lower-risk trading environment," he said.
Yilmaz said the exchange would help create reference prices for strategic minerals such as gold, copper, boron and rare earth elements, making prices more transparent and traceable.
The proposal for the exchange is included in Türkiye's 12th Development Plan, he said, which covers the period from 2024 through 2028.
Yilmaz said the exchange would be based at the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC), and an application has already been submitted by the Energy Exchange Istanbul (EXIST) to the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye.
Yilmaz also addressed gold demand in the country, saying gold prices around $5,000 per ounce are becoming "a new normal" and that higher prices pose a challenge for importing countries like Türkiye.
"Based on 2025 data, every $100-per-ounce increase in gold prices has an approximately $400 million negative impact on Türkiye's current account balance," he said.
Yilmaz noted that Türkiye's gold production fell to 28.4 tonnes by the end of 2025, representing only half of the sector's target production and the lowest output in five years – all while total gold imports reached 126.3 tonnes in 2025.
He added that silver imports nearly doubled to 860 tonnes last year, driven by strong industrial and investment demand, particularly from the solar and electronics sectors.
However, Türkiye's total mining exports still rose 3.4% last year to $6.2 billion, Yilmaz said, supported by overseas expansion through government-to-government agreements with Niger, Sudan, Somalia and Uzbekistan in 2025.
"Mining accounts for about 1% of GDP, but exports exceed $6 billion and the potential runs into trillions of dollars," he said. "After agriculture, mining is Türkiye's second most strategic sector."
He also said Türkiye is building closer ties with Canada, and the country would pursue strong cooperation on mining technologies and financing, which the new mining exchange would help support.
In August, data from the Turkish stock exchange showed that after years well above the global average, gold demand was declining in 2025 under the combination of persistently high gold prices and the increasing attractiveness of silver.
“Türkiye’s gold imports through Türkiye's stock exchange, Borsa Istanbul, fell to 4.34 tons (139,645 oz) in July 2025, falling by 53.5% from 9.33 tons (299,975 oz) in June and the weakest monthly inflow since April 2023, when imports had stood at 2.88 tons (92,600 oz),” according to the exchange data. “From January to July 2025, imports reached 72.09 tons (2.32 million oz), nearly flat compared with the 72.24 tons (2.32 million oz) brought in during the same period of 2024,” but average monthly imports declined by 2% to 10.29 tons through July 2025 compared with 10.47 tons in 2024.
Borsa Istanbul noted that Turkish gold imports were far below the peak levels observed in recent years. “Annual imports totaled 125.69 tons (4.04 million oz) in 2024, a sharp reduction from 318.98 tons (10.26 million oz) in 2023,” it noted. “Borsa Istanbul data show that in 2025, standard bullion imports accounted for 97% of the total, slightly below the 99% share recorded in 2024.”
Domestic gold production has continued its recent contractionary trend as well.
“Local gold production by mining companies also declined in the same period, with output between January and July 2025 amounting to 14.08 tons (452,838 oz), compared with 18.67 tons (600,100 oz) a year earlier,” the exchange said. “The report also noted that Türkiye’s full-year gold production was 31.10 tons (999,919 oz) in 2024, down from 36.14 tons (1.16 million oz) in 2023, extending the downward trend in domestic mining activity.”
The Turkish Mint’s issuance of gold coins and bars also averaged 3.82 tons per month through July 2025, close to half the monthly average of 6.72 tons seen in 2024.
Trading volumes on the Borsa Istanbul also contracted in physical terms, and much of that decline appeared to be due to traders moving out of gold and into silver.
“Silver transactions, on the other hand, averaged 67.44 tons (2.17 million oz), a 4% increase compared with 65.07 tons (2.09 million oz) in the same period of 2024,” the exchange noted. “The number of gold transactions edged up to 1,091 in the first seven months of 2025, from 1,022 in 2024. Silver transactions recorded a sharper rise, climbing 38% year-on-year to 743, compared with 539 in the previous year.”
In value terms, gold trading averaged $2.13 billion per month in 2025, up 37% from $1.55 billion in 2024, but silver outdid the yellow metal here as well, with a 47% rise to average $69.3 million per month in 2025 compared to $47.1 million in 2024.
Silver imports also grew significantly as gold imports waned. “Türkiye imported 48.66 tons (1.56 million oz) of silver in July 2025, up from 8.34 tons (268,000 oz) in June,” the exchange said. “For the January–July period, silver inflows reached 302.15 tons (9.71 million oz), compared with 193.01 tons (6.21 million oz) in the same period of 2024.”
