Reserves
Located in the Alpine-Himalayan Belt, it has a rich potential due to its geological structure. According to today's data, our country has 4 billion m3 of exploitable marble, 2.8 billion m3 of exploitable travertine and 1 billion m3 of granite reserves. According to these values, Turkey is the world's natural stone has approximately 33% of its reserves (Republic of Turkey Natural Stones Report, 2021).
Especially There are dense marble reserves along the North Anatolian fault line. Marble in Turkey reserves are shown in detail in below.
These reserves are located
- Konya, Eskişehir in the Central Anatolia Region,
- Balıkesir, Bilecik, Kırklareli and surrounding areas in the Marmara Region,
- Diyarbakır and its surroundings in the Southeastern Anatolia Region,
- In the Aegean Region, between Afyon, around Izmir and Aydın,
- Around Ordu, Gümüşhane and Rize in the Black Sea Region,
- It is found around Isparta and Antalya in the Mediterranean Region.
According to the researches conducted in Turkey, it has been determined that there are more than 80 different types of marble with more than 120 different colors and patterns in different structures (Republic of Turkey Natural Stones Report 2021). Our main natural stone types are crystalline limestone (marble), limestone in various colors and patterns, travertine-formed limestone (onyx), conglomerate, breccia and igneous rocks (granite, syenite, diabase, diorite, serpentine, etc.). Our marbles recognized in the international market They are recognized by taking the names of the regions where they are mined.
When our reserves are evaluated together with the diversity of marble, it is seen that the sector is an important source of employment. and have a significant export potential in world markets (Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Turkey, 2021: 3).
When we look at the product composition of Turkey's exports in the natural stone sector, it is seen that marble ranks first with a 95% share in total natural stone exports. (Republic of Turkey Ministry of Trade, 2021: 5).
The most well-known marble types produced in Turkey and recognized in the international market are;
Salome, Rosso Levanto, Akşehir Black, Mugla White, Bilecik Beige, Tiger Skin, Light Travertine, Rosso Laguna, Milas Lilac, Gemlik Diabase and Afyon White (Wikipedia, 2021).
Today, classical marble production methods have been abandoned and modern production methods have been adopted. Marble processing capacities are constantly growing, the number of modern facilities is constantly increasing, and our exports, which were based on block marble for many years, are now mostly processed into finished products. It is an undeniable fact that the economic war that started between the USA and China in 2018 had an impact on this situation.
In the marble sector; there are 1,500 marble quarries, 2,000 factories, 9,000 workshops and approximately 300,000 people are employed (Republic of Turkey Ministry of Trade, 2021: 1).
Almost all of the production is carried out by the private sector. Approximately 15 million tons of natural stone was produced in Turkey in 2020.
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