Rare Earth Elements (REEs), which are driving new competition in the energy and technology sectors, will play a significant role in Turkey's energy independence strategy. Alpaslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced that important steps for Rare Earth Elements in our country will be taken in 2026.
What are Rare Earth Elements?
Rare earth elements are a special group of 17 chemical elements that are fundamental building blocks of modern technology and are found in very low concentrations in the earth's crust. They consist of lanthanides (15 elements), Scandium, and Yttrium, totaling 17 elements.
Rare earth elements play an indispensable role in areas such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, defense industry, medical devices, artificial intelligence, and advanced electronic systems. Minister Bayraktar refers to REEs as the "oil of our age" due to their strategic importance.
The World's Second Largest Reserve is in Turkey
Scientific studies reveal that the Beylikova field in Eskişehir holds the world's second-largest rare earth element reserve. Over the last 10 years, approximately 125,000 meters of drilling have been conducted in the region, and more than 59,000 tests and sample analyses have been performed.
Currently, a pilot facility with an annual capacity of 1,200 tons is operating in the field. The main goal is to multiply this capacity, reaching an annual production of 570,000 tons. To achieve this, the foundation of the Rare Earth Elements Industrial Facility to be established in Eskişehir is targeted for 2026.
Critical Threshold: 99.9% Purity
The real competition in rare earth elements is not in extracting the ore, but in purifying it and transforming it into high value-added products. Turkey has currently achieved a purity level of 92-93% with domestic capabilities. However, to create economic value, the target is to reach 99.9% purity. This difference dramatically increases the product's value. A raw product worth approximately 500 dollars can increase to up to 25,000 dollars when converted into an end-product.
China's global dominance in this field is noteworthy. Against China, which does not export its technology, Turkey is collaborating with laboratories and companies based in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and Switzerland for technology development and transfer. At the same time, intensive R&D efforts are underway through universities and national engineers.
Thorium in Beylikova
One of the factors that make the Beylikova field even more strategically important is its thorium reserve. According to legislation, fields containing thorium can only be operated by the state. This ensures that the project is carried out under public control, preventing potential disputes.
Certification and accreditation studies are ongoing with Hacettepe University to ensure the international validity of the reserve and its usability in financing processes. Thorium, which has a radioactive structure, is used as a fuel raw material in nuclear reactors. In the wrong hands, it can pose a risk of radiation and nuclear weapons. For this reason, it can only be processed by the public sector.
A New Era Begins in 2026
With the groundbreaking of the industrial facility in 2026, Turkey aims to become not just a mineral producer, but a global supplier of high-tech raw materials. This step will strengthen strategic independence in many areas, from energy supply security to the defense industry.
0 Comments: