Asian Metal visits Ekin Maden Ticaret Ve Sanayi A.S. and Setat Madencilik Orhaneli Mining Field

On 8th December, Chi Hin Ling, Regional Manager (EMEA), and Matt Arnott, Ferroalloys Analyst (EMEA), visited Ekin Maden’s office at Maslak, Istanbul. Ekin Maden is one of the leading exporters of metals and minerals in Turkey, predominantly produces and exports raw materials like chrome, zinc, lead and copper ores and concentrates. Besides its involvement in exporting raw materials, Ekin Maden is also the leading distributors of non ferrous metals in Turkey with 85% market share.

Chi and Matt were welcomed by Cenk Yilmaz, Chrome Department Manager, and Murat Bahar, Deputy Manager. The two parties exchanged views on the current condition of the global chrome markets and outlooks for 2015 on the world metals and minerals sector over lunch. Cenk and Murat also explained and discussed the future operations and plans with Chi and Matt.

On the next day, Murat has kindly arranged a mine visit to the Setat’s mining field at Orhaneli, 65 km south of Bursa and 85km south of the Gemlik Port where the chrome ore is being exported. At the mine, Chi, Matt and Murat were kindly accompanied by Mehmet Lekici, Mining Engineer, and Erol Günes, Operations Supervisor, and were given a tour of the mine.

Setat Group of Companies was founded by Mr Sehmus Tatlici in 1965, and Setat Madencilik A.S., the mining arm of the Group, was established in 1996 and started production of chrome concentrate since 2004.

The Orhaneli Field consists of 20 million tonnes of visible reserve of chrome, 20 million tonnes of probable reserves along with another 10 million tonnes of possible reserve. Setat owns 17,852 hectares of land in the Bursa Orhaneli region, where, not only chrome, but nickel, syenite, magnesite and olivine ores were also discovered.

Mehmet and Erol explained that, at the site, there are 4 concentrate plants working 24/7 and 365 days a year, with a capacity of 500 tonnes per day (with ROM of 6,000 - 8,000 tonnes per day). The Orhaneli chrome filed is the largest production base of chrome concentrate in Turkey and is typically producing concentrate chrome ore 46-48% from a feed of 7%. The mine field is an open pit operation, where the ore is mined out by using explosive and crashed to smaller size before inputting to the grinders at the onsite plants. The grinders will then further crash the material to the right size for use in the magnetic separation tables. The output from the tables are then dried out and ready for transportation to the port.

One of the biggest advantages of the Orhaneli region is that it is very well connected to the national road system. Being linked by the Bursa-Orhaneli highway means that the material can be transported by trucks, in big bags and containers, to Gemlik port where the material is being shipped out to global destinations. The relatively short distanced travel and the well developed road system have significantly reduced the transaction cost for the material.

After the touring of the mine, the three parties sit down and discussed about the outlook and future development of the Turkish chrome industry. Murat and Mehmet explained that, although they were doing well due to the unique advantages of mine, the chrome ore production industry has been suffering from subdued demand, lower prices, tighter mining license requirements and the ever increasing electricity tariffs - one of the highest in the region. The two went on and suggested that the future of the Turkish chrome ore mining and concentrate producing industry should focus strengthening cooperation with China, the world largest ferrochrome producing country, probably by partnering with Chinese smelters and having them to hold stakes and to finance the mines. They believe that there are significant mutual benefits from the two sides - the Chinese smelters can have secured supplies of raw material with guarantee grades while the Turkish miners could ensure the inflow of money encouraging further explorations and developments of existing facilities, especially after the considerable decline in CAPAX over the past few years caused by the subdued price levels and the rather pessimistic and cautious sentiments in the industry. Another objective of the future plan is to diversify the client portfolio, looking to conduct business with the Middle East, India, and other far Eastern countries, in order to reduce risk on having a narrow client base. Ekin is one of the pioneer of exporting chrome ore to these "new markets" that Murat proudly indicated that they have secured a country with one of the newly set up ferrochrome plants based in Sohar, Oman.

Chi, Matt and Murat were then treated a feast at the mine. Over lunch, Murat expressed appreciation of Asian Metal‘s works on providing prompt and up to date pricing information and the professional analysis and valuable advice from Chi and Matt in the past years. Chi and Matt were overwhelmed and very thankful for the hospitality, wishing a continue success of Ekin and Setat.