Turkish miner, Lonmin to explore for gold, silver in Ireland

Turkish gold mining company Koza Altın said on Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South African platinum miner Lonmin's Northern Ireland unit for gold and silver exploration activities.

The exploration will take place in Northern Ireland, the statement said. Koza had said in April it had established a wholly owned subsidiary in Britain to undertake mining activities abroad. This was an apparent move to compensate for losses the company has been suffering due to heavy government pressure at home. Koza Altın earlier had its operations in several major gold mines halted in a move that is being seen as the most recent example of the government's exploitation of inspections and red tape to put pressure on those with views critical of it.

Koza's parent company is İpek Holding, and it has long been speculated that the government has been working to suppress İpek's companies and reduce coverage critical of the government's authoritarian policies by its media groups.

Koza Altın is the only one in Turkey with 100 percent domestic ownership and it is the third private company on the list of top performers in terms of corporate taxes.

Published on Today's Zaman, 26 May 2014, Monday