MAPEG Announces The Tender Of 485 Mining Sites

On 7 February 2026, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs ("MAPEG"), announced in the Official Gazette numbered 33161 that 485 mining sites would be put out to tender. On MAPEG's official website, the province, access number, mineral group, base tender price, tender specifications, map sheet and coordinate information, surface areas, and tender dates of the mining sites subject to tender (317th tender group site list) were also published.

Which Mineral Groups Are Subject to the Tender?

A total of 485 mining sites has been offered for tender in relation to Group II-B minerals (marble, travertine, and similar natural stones) and Group IV minerals (metallic minerals such as gold, copper, zinc, lead, iron, etc.).

What Are the Details of the Tender Procedure?

Bids shall be submitted by hand to the Commission at the Atilla Şinasi Özdemir Conference Hall located within the MAPEG service building in Ankara, within the date and time intervals announced on MAPEG's website (commencing on 25 March 2026 and to be conducted progressively until 10 April 2026). Applications submitted by post or by any other means shall be deemed invalid. The tender date determined for each site has been published on MAPEG's website. Bids submitted after the specified time shall not be taken into consideration. MAPEG reserves the right to postpone the tender date.

The documents required for applications to the announced sites are listed under Article 5 of the tender specifications. The bid letter envelope and the bid security envelope shall each be placed in separate sealed envelopes and, together with the other application documents, enclosed within a larger outer envelope to form the "Tender Bid File Envelope." The outer envelope shall indicate, for real persons, the province and access number of the site, and the applicant's full name and Turkish ID number; and for legal entities, the province and access number of the site, the trade name, tax number, and, if applicable, the proxy's full name and Turkish ID number.

The tender process is conducted in two stages:

1. Sealed Bid Stage: Following the opening of the valid bid envelopes, the arithmetic mean of all valid bids is calculated. Bids reaching at least 50% of this average qualify to proceed to the auction stage; bids below this threshold are excluded from further evaluation.
2. Open Auction Stage: The open auction is initiated by the bidder who submitted the lowest valid bid in the sealed bid stage. Subsequent increments may not be less than 5% nor more than 20% of the current bid; all increases shall remain within this range.

What Are the Financial Obligations for Participation?

In addition to the required documentation, participants shall pay a tender specification fee of TRY 9,450.00, an operating license base fee of TRY 180,461.00, and a minimum tender security of TRY 2,000,000.00. It should further be noted that the minimum tender security may not be less than 20% of the sealed bid amount.

Who Is Not Eligible to Participate?

Natural persons who are not Turkish citizens, legal entities not incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Türkiye, civil servants, and MAPEG personnel are not eligible to participate in the tender. Multiple applications for the same site by the same person or affiliated persons are prohibited; all applications submitted in breach of this rule shall be deemed invalid. Those who are awarded the right to obtain a license but fail to fulfill their obligations shall be barred from participating in tenders for a period of one year. Acts such as fraud, submission of forged documents, or bid rigging shall be reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office, and the relevant persons shall be banned from participating in tenders for two years. If it is subsequently determined that forged documents were used or that the bidder was ineligible to participate, the tender specification fee, base fee, tender price, and bid security shall be forfeited, any license issued shall be revoked, and no rights shall accrue to other bidders.

What Is the Post-Tender Process?

The tender shall be conducted and concluded at the announced date and time at MAPEG's Atilla Şinasi Özdemir Conference Hall.

The successful bidder shall deposit the tender price into the designated bank account within the statutory period granted. Otherwise, the right to the license shall be forfeited and the entire bid security shall be confiscated. Upon payment of the tender price within the statutory period, the bidder shall be granted two months to fulfill the remaining obligations set forth in the Mining Law. The bidder who duly fulfills these obligations shall be entitled to obtain the license. Failing this, the license right shall be lost, the tender price paid shall not be refunded, and the site shall be re-offered for tender.

Prospective bidders should also take into consideration that a significant portion of the sites may be located within areas subject to permits or favorable opinions from various public authorities, and that the commencement of mining activities may be contingent upon obtaining the requisite permits under the applicable legislation; furthermore, where existing energy or infrastructure facilities are present on certain sites, additional permissions from the relevant entities may be required.

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.