Türkiye's Rare Earth Elements Policy

The Importance of Rare Earth Elements in a Global Context

Rare Earth Elements (REE) are a group of 17 elements that, contrary to their name, are relatively abundant on Earth. In fact, their scarcity is not due to low abundance but to the difficulty of finding them in concentrations that are commercially viable for extraction. Moreover, separating these elements from one another—refining them—is a technologically demanding and expensive process. These elements are regarded as the “technological vitamins” of the modern world; they are indispensable in nearly all high-tech applications, from smartphones and wind turbines to electric vehicle motors—particularly permanent magnets—and advanced defense systems such as the F-35.

On a global scale, the REE market has long been under China’s overwhelming dominance. China controls a large share of global production and, more critically, the refining capacity, giving it the potential to use these elements as a geopolitical lever. This situation has pushed Western countries and advanced economies to urgently seek diversification of their supply chains. The near-total dependence of their technology, energy, and defense industries on Beijing’s arbitrary decisions has increasingly been viewed as an unacceptable national security vulnerability. In this global chessboard, Türkiye has not played a significant role for decades, largely unaware of its own potential. A discovery made in 2022 fundamentally changed this dynamic, compelling Türkiye to overhaul its mining policies, formulate a national strategy, and position itself as an ambitious player in the global supply chain. This article examines Türkiye’s evolution from its modest past in REE to its current ambitious national policy.

Rare Earth Element (Anadolu Ajansı)

Discovery and Historical Background of Rare Earth Elements in Türkiye

Türkiye’s mining history has largely focused on more traditional resources such as boron, chromite, lignite, and marble. Until the late 20th century, REE were neither an economic priority nor a strategic goal. During this period, General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) conducted various geological surveys across the country. These surveys identified REE and thorium anomalies—thorium being a radioactive element commonly associated with REE—in several regions, notably Malatya-Kuluncak, Sivas, and Burdur. However, due to low consumption, lack of awareness, and technological limitations, these findings never translated into economic activity.

The first geological studies on REE in Türkiye date back to the 1950s. However, since REE were not considered strategically important at the time, they attracted only limited academic interest. Field surveys conducted by the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) during the 1980s and 1990s revealed the presence of REE-bearing deposits, particularly in the Eskişehir–Beylikova, Malatya–Kuluncak, and Sivas–Yıldızeli regions.

Türkiye’s Reserve Potential and Economic Value

From the 2000s onward, rising global demand and China’s export restrictions reignited intensified interest in these resources within Türkiye. Detailed drilling and analysis work carried out by MTA and Eti Mine after 2010 revealed the existence of a massive reserve of approximately 694 million tons in the Beylikova area. This reserve is considered the second-largest REE deposit in the world after China’s 800 million ton “Bayan Obo” deposit. Although smaller than China’s, Türkiye’s substantial reserve offers Western countries, led by the United States, a significant alternative to reduce their dependence on China. If Türkiye effectively leverages this advantage, it can open new doors in its relations with the West and strengthen these ties.

The Eskişehir–Beylikova area is recognized as an exceptionally rich complex containing barium, fluorite, thorium, and rare earth oxides. Although the total concentration of the 17 different REE in this deposit is only about 0.2–0.3 percent, the sheer size of the reserve makes economic production viable. Türkiye’s total REE oxide reserves are estimated at around 700 million tons, placing it among the top countries globally, with approximately 10 percent of the world’s total reserves.

However, converting these reserves into economic value requires not only their quantity but also the development of extraction and processing technologies. Separating rare earth elements demands high technology and significant costs. Türkiye is still in its early stages in this field, having only recently begun to address these needs. The Beylikova Rare Earth Elements Pilot Plant, opened in 2023, represents one of the key strategic steps in this direction, aiming to test chemical separation stages of a production chain with a capacity of 1,200 tons of ore per year using domestic technologies.

The 2000s and Türkiye’s Entry into the Equation

From the 2000s onward, Türkiye began to clearly recognize the economic, technological, and geopolitical value of REE, which had gained strategic importance in the global economy. The growing prominence of China’s global monopoly in this sector, coupled with the rapid advancement of technology dependent on critical minerals—such as defense industry, energy transition, electronics, and renewable energy equipment—and Türkiye’s own rapid investment growth in these areas, prompted Türkiye to reassess its domestic resources from a strategic perspective.

The first significant steps during this period were taken by the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) and the Eti Maden Enterprises General Directorate. From the early 2000s, MTA conducted systematic geological surveys and reserve exploration in regions across Türkiye—particularly around Eskişehir, Kütahya, Malatya, Sivas, Burdur, Aydın, and Manisa—that showed potential for REE. These studies identified significant REE-bearing complex ore deposits, especially in the Eskişehir–Beylikova area. This region, with its multi-component structure combining barium, fluorite, thorium, and REE, is now regarded as one of Türkiye’s most strategic mining sites.

In the mid-2000s, modernization and restructuring efforts within Eti Maden’s institutional framework helped establish a solid institutional foundation for Türkiye’s REE policies. Eti Maden expanded beyond its traditional focus on boron production and began investing in high-value mineral processing technologies, establishing laboratories and pilot plants for REE processing and separation. By the 2010s, these efforts had acquired strategic significance and began to be formally incorporated into Türkiye’s “National Mining Strategy” documents.

Rare Earth Elements in Türkiye (Anadolu Ajansı)

The MPAEG 2019–2023 Strategic Plan aligned Türkiye’s mining vision with higher-level policy documents such as the Eleventh Development Plan and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Strategic Plan. This plan explicitly confirms that priority will be given to the exploration of REE, defined directly as “strategic and critical minerals.” Within this framework, cooperation mechanisms have been established between public institutions, universities, and the private sector to identify, process, and integrate REE into industry. During the same period, new entities such as the Türkiye Energy, Nuclear and Mining Research Institute (TENMAK) were brought into operation, enabling joint evaluation of mining technologies and nuclear energy-based strategic resource management under a common goal.

Following administrative changes introduced by the Presidential Government System after 2018, mining policies were centralized under the coordination of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. During this period, REE began to be viewed not merely as raw materials but as a critical and indispensable component of national security and technology policy. In 2019, the Beylikova site was officially recognized through international analyses as the world’s second-largest REE reserve. This finding currently positions Türkiye as a potential regional power in the REE market.

In the 2020s, Türkiye began taking concrete steps not only in reserve discovery but also in processing technologies and building economic value chains. In 2022, Eti Maden laid the foundation for the Beylikova Rare Earth Elements Pilot Plant, initiating construction of a facility with an annual processing capacity of 1,200 tons of ore. This facility marks a critical turning point in transitioning REE processing from laboratory scale to industrial scale. Simultaneously, research and development projects are underway through collaboration between TENMAK and TÜBİTAK MAM (Marmara Research Center) to develop domestic technologies for REE refining, oxide production, metal separation, and magnet manufacturing.

Parallel to these developments, Türkiye has also introduced reforms to its mining legislation. REE have been formally classified as a “strategic mineral” under the Mining Law and its associated regulations. This change aims to increase state control over their exploitation and export, enhance domestic processing capacity, and reduce foreign dependency. Furthermore, since 2023, production, import, export, and technology development activities related to REE have been directly monitored under the coordination of the Presidency of Strategy and Budget and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources within the framework of the National Energy and Mining Policy.

Most recently, Türkiye has clearly articulated its goal of integrating REE into global “green transition” supply chains for electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, electronic devices, and defense technologies. It has also stated that the outputs from From the Beylikova pilot facility of Eti Maden will, in the long term, be scaled up to industrial production levels to support Türkiye’s domestic magnet, battery, and high-tech material manufacturing. Additionally, the planned Beylikova Industrial Complex, scheduled for 2024, has been designed to serve not only as processing facilities but also as a research and development and training center.

These developments illustrate how Türkiye’s REE policies since the 2000s have evolved from raw material extraction toward advanced technology production. What began as field surveys by MTA has transformed into Eti Maden’s production-oriented transformation, institutionalized R&D through collaboration with TENMAK and TÜBİTAK, and ultimately coalesced into a comprehensive national mining policy guided by state strategy. Thus, by the 2020s, Türkiye has become not merely a resource-rich country but one aiming to be an actor capable of securely, sustainably, and technologically integrating critical minerals into value chains.

Conclusion

Türkiye’s journey with REE can be described as a transition from a largely overlooked potential until the 2000s to an ambitious aspiration to become a global actor following the 2022 discovery in Eskişehir–Beylikova. Recognized as the world’s second-largest reserve, this site has fundamentally reshaped Türkiye’s national mining policy, moving the country beyond being merely a geography rich in raw materials toward policies that aim for greater strategic autonomy.

The pilot plants established under Eti Maden’s leadership and the R&D activities supported by TENMAK and TÜBİTAK clearly demonstrate Türkiye’s determination to develop domestic capabilities in the most challenging phase: refining (separation) technologies. The ultimate goal is not merely to be a reserve holder in this strategic market dominated by China but to become a player with influence in the supply chain—capable of producing high-value end products such as magnets and oxides for critical sectors like defense industry and green energy.