Societe Anonyme Turque Des Mines de Balia-Karaidin - 1926 dated French Mining Stock Certificate

Stock. Strong border with large female figure in bottom left corner and railroad tracks along bottom of bond, mining car, etc. Superb!!! 6 rows of coupons remain.

The Société Anonyme Ottomane des Mines de Balia-Karaïdin, established in 1892 by the Ottoman Bank in collaboration with the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas and other private French investors, operated in the Balikesir region. It emerged as one of the Ottoman Empire’s leading extractors of lead, silver, and zinc. Its operations were highly advanced for the era, including the construction of Anatolia’s first thermal power plant at Manc?l?k in 1901 to power its facilities and a narrow-gauge railway to transport ore to the port of Akçay. By 1913, it had become a prominent global mining enterprise, even listing on the Paris Stock Exchange.

However, World War I and the subsequent Greek occupation of the region caused significant disruptions, leading to a temporary halt in operations. After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1924, the company was renamed the Société Anonyme Turque des Mines de Balia-Karaïdin. Despite this, it remained under French management and employed thousands of local workers. Between 1880 and 1935, the mines produced an estimated 400,000 tons of lead and 1,000 tons of silver.

The onset of the Great Depression in the late 1930s caused a collapse in raw material prices, leading to the company’s liquidation. Today, the site stands as a significant historical mining district, with modern operations at the Balya mine managed by companies like Esan.