Turkey could be sitting on gold deposits worth almost $200 billion (£122 billion), according to one expert.

Speaking to the country's Anadolu Agency news organisation, executive president of the Turkish Gold Miners' Association Umit Akdur said that there could be about 6,500 tonnes of the precious metal underground in Turkey.

"If this potential is processed, its added value to [the] Turkish economy will amount to about $1 trillion," he remarked.

He went on to note that Turkey's gold production is currently at about 16 tonnes per year.

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Earlier this year, Murat Guvenc of the Gold Exchange told Hurriyet Daily News that Turkey is fast becoming a key exporter of gold to other countries as the economic crisis continues to provide a supply of scrap gold.

Citizens are increasingly selling gold items to jewellery stores, with the precious metal then being turned into bullion at Turkey's refineries, traded on the Istanbul Gold Exchange and eventually exported elsewhere, he commented.

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