Marble Potential, Mining And Policy Of Turkey - Introduction

The use of natural stones like marble is approximately as old as the emergence of human. Marble and natural stone usage of Turkey also dates back to very old times. Marble is produced in Anatolia since the ancient times. The archaeological excavations made in Anatolia indicate that the modern methods that are used for the production of marble blocks in modern world were first used by Anatolian people. Turkey is one of the oldest natural stone producers with its 4000 years of production history, starting from the Marmara Island. Therefore, the territory of Turkey possesses 4000 years of natural stone processing technology and experience. Turkey has fairly richer reserves of marble compared to other countries. This is why the rich and quality marble deposits of Turkey are resembled to the appearance of the Alpine-Himalayan marble belt of the world. Turkey has almost 40% of the total marble reserves (13.9 billion tones) of the world with 5.2 billion tones. Turkey?s marble reserve?s monetary value is worth about 2 trillion dollars. However, only 1% of these reserves are currently being utilized.