Copper ore claim near Lefka

THE Turkish Cypriot press claims that over 3 million tonnes of copper and gold ore deposits have been found in two separates areas of Lefka, in the occupied areas.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, the company which has not been named, originally conducted a search in a 272 square kilometre area. First indications suggest 1,485,000 tonnes in copper ore reserves in one area and 2,970,000 tonnes in another area.

The mining and extraction works are expected to cost over $200m and will take between six to eight years, the report said citing a manager called Oral Sonmez. In order to extract the copper ore, in a “military zone” the company was cooperating with authorities in the occupied areas and Turkey.

Geology department chief Eleni Morisseau said the numbers were extremely high and were most likely copper bearing ore bodies.

“We knew, before the invasion that there was copper and gold in the area, but we do not know anything about their studies,” she said, stressing there was no cooperation between the two sides.

As to what financial benefits they could reap, this was another unknown that needed more information for an adequate answer. It would depend on several factors such as the concentration and if it was exported, amongst many others, she stipulated, adding that the environmental hazards would also need to be calculated.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.