Procedures For Transition From Group II-B Exploration License To Mining Operation License

I. Exploration License

First and foremost, it should be noted that pursuant to the Mining Regulation, exploration activities for Group II-b, III, IV, and V minerals are carried out under an exploration license. In this context, pursuant to the Mining Law, operation licenses are not granted directly for Group II-B mines; instead, an exploration license is first issued. In this respect, in order to conduct mining operations for a Group II-B mine, an authorization document, namely an operation license, must be obtained, and an operation permit must be granted for the commencement of mining activities. For Group II-B mines, these procedures take place subsequent to the exploration license stage.

II. Transition from Exploration License to Operation License

i. Applications for Operation Licenses

According to the Mining Regulation, it is regulated that exploration activities shall be carried out by obtaining an exploration license for Group II-B minerals. As explicitly stated in the legislation, if the holders of exploration licenses fulfil their obligations regarding the exploration period before the expiration of the term, they may proceed to the next exploration period and/or the operation period without waiting for the end of the current term. The periods that the License Holder must complete under the exploration license before applying for an operation license are briefly indicated below:

Pre-Exploration Period: The one-year period starting from the date of issuance of the exploration license is considered the pre-exploration period. During this period, it is possible to apply the systematic exploration methods specified in the preliminary survey report. At the end of the pre-exploration period, submission of the pre-exploration activity report included in the annex of the Mining Regulation is mandatory.

General Exploration Period: The general exploration period starts as of the end of the pre-exploration period and is determined as one year for Group II-B minerals. By the end of the general exploration period, submission of the general exploration activity report (including the investment expenditures related to the exploration activities carried out during this period) included in the annex of the Mining Regulation is mandatory. It should be noted that, for Group II-B minerals, if an operation project including resource and reserve information (prepared under the responsibility of an Authorized Legal Entity (“ALE”) and a mining engineer) is not submitted and an application for an operation license is not made by the end of the general exploration period, the relevant exploration license shall be cancelled.

Pursuant to Articles 20 and 23 of the Mining Regulation and Article 24 of the Mining Law, for Group II-B mines, the license/right holder is required to complete the following steps by the end of the exploration license period.

The mining operation project must be signed by the license/right holder or their legal representative, as well as by the ALE.

Following the fulfilment of the requirements listed above, if the General Directorate identifies any deficiencies in the operation project during its review, the General Directorate will notify the License Holder, and the deficiencies must be remedied within three (3) months from the date of notification. If the deficiencies are not remedied within this period, an administrative fine of TRY 287,622.00 (for the year 2025, subject to annual change) will be imposed pursuant to Article 24 of the Mining Law, and the period will be extended by an additional three (3) months. If the deficiencies are still not remedied after the additional period, the field will be designated as a tender field and licensed through a tender process. The paid minimum operation license fee will not be refunded in this case.

Additionally, pursuant to the Mining Regulation, a list of expenditures made during the exploration period, together with supporting documents such as invoices, expense vouchers, salary payments, and other related documents, must be submitted separately by the date the operation project is delivered. Submission of the general exploration activity report is mandatory by the end of the general exploration period. For Group II-B mines, if an operation project containing resource and reserve information is not submitted and an application for an operation license is not made by the end of the general exploration period, the exploration license will be cancelled.

ii. Financial Capability Requirement for Operation License Applications

For an operation license application, the financial capability, which is submitted as an annex to the mining operation project, has been set at a minimum of TRY 7,870,794.00 (for the year 2025, subject to annual change) for Group II-B mines. In addition to the minimum amount, the financial capability must be at least 20% of the total investment amount specified in the mining operation project. The License Holder, whether a natural or legal person, must submit a bank reference letter to the General Directorate demonstrating the available cash credit limit and/or term or demand deposit amount corresponding to the financial capability included in the annex to the mining operation project. For legal entities, at least 30% of the required financial capability, according to the mining group, must be covered by their capital, with the remaining portion supported by a letter of bank reference. For natural persons, financial capability must be demonstrated entirely through a bank reference letter.

iii. Evaluation of the Application

Based on the visible and/or probable reserve areas indicated in the general exploration activity report prepared pursuant to Article 17 of the Mining Law, an operation license will be issued within one (1) month in accordance with Article 24 of the Mining Law. If the mineral subject to the mining operation project has not been made visible by the end of the exploration license period, the application for an operation license will be rejected, and the exploration license will be cancelled.

There is no obstacle to conducting exploration activities within the operation license area. For Group II-B mines, if the probable reserve areas have not been converted into resources and/or reserves as of the date the operation license is issued, the relevant areas will be subject to estimation (assessment).

iv. Granting the Operation Permit

After the operation license has been issued, the procedure for obtaining a mining operation permit must be carried out in order to commence the actual use of the license.

Pursuant to Article 28 of the Mining Regulation, requests for the granting of an operation permit for Group II-B mines will be considered only if the following requirements are fulfilled; otherwise, the request will be rejected:

• Submission to the General Directorate of documents demonstrating that the necessary permits have been obtained from the relevant public authorities in accordance with Article 7 of the Mining Law,
• Active KEP (Registered Electronic Mail) or UETS (National Electronic Notification System) address,
• No outstanding obligations regarding previous license fees, license payments, environmental compliance guarantees, or State royalties,
• Existence of an ALE agreement,
• Complete submission of all documents required under the applicable legislation.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.