42. Tethyan Belt in Türkiye – Exploration Potential and Recent Discoveries

Türkiye forms an integral part of the Tethyan Belt, extending from the Balkans in the west to Iran in the east. The complexity of the geology in Turkish Tethyan Bet also offers diverse mineralization styles and is still considered underexplored compared to other countries. We talked to our guests with diverse backgrounds to understand the exploration potential and recent successes across the regions.

Our first guest is İlkay Kuşçu, Exploration Projects Consultant with SSR Mining, who has over three decades of experience on the Turkish Tethyan Bel. He provides a valuable overview of the belt and exploration history of the country.

Then, we talked to Firuz Alizade, Head of Global Exploration with Lidya Mining. In 2015, he led the team in discovering a high-grade Au-Cu Hod Maden deposit and was also the recipient of 2020 PDAC’s Thayer Lindsley award. He shared Hod Maden's exploration story.

The third guest, Ali İmer, is an assistant professor of Economic Geology at METU Turkey. His primary focus has been on the Porphyry-Epithermal System in Eastern Anatolia, sharing the tectonomagmatic evolution of the region with a comparison to Iran.

Our last guests are Elif Tekin, Business Development Manager with ESAN and past-chair WIM Turkey, and Bader Bilgin, Exploration Geologist with SSR Mining. Elif Tekin informs us about WIM's activities and future goals in Turkey. She also remarks on the importance of resourcing geologists. Then, Bader Bilgin tells us why an early career geologist would need a mentor and how SEG and WIM mentorship benefited her.

Our music is Confluence by Eastwinds.

 

Come join us in Brisbane, Australia for SEG 2025, September 26-29th.  This will be a dynamic conference with cutting edge science, new discoveries, technology and more.  Opportunities for networking and learning include several workshops and field trips before and after the event, relaxed social events and of course the conference itself.  See you there!