According to Turkish media reports recently, Fatih Donmez, Turkish Minister of energy and natural resources, said recently that 694 million tons of rare earth element reserves have been found in the Beylikova region in Turkey, including 17 different rare earth endemic elements. Turkey will become the second largest rare earth reserve country after China.
Rare earth, known as “industrial monosodium glutamate” and “modern industrial vitamin”, has important applications in clean energy, permanent magnet materials, petrochemical industry and other fields. Among them, Neodymium, Praseodymium, Dysprosium and Terbium are the key elements in the production of Neodymium magnets for electric vehicles.
According to Donmez, Turkey has been drilling for six years in the Beylikova area since 2011 for the exploration of rare earth in the territory, with 125000 meters of drilling work carried out, and 59121 samples collected from the site. After analyzing the samples, Turkey claimed that the region had 694million tons of rare earth elements.
It is expected to become the second largest rare earth reserves country.
Donmez also said that ETI maden, Turkey’s state-owned mining and chemical company, will build a pilot plant in the region within this year, when 570000 tons of ore will be processed in the region every year. The production results of the pilot plant will be analyzed within one year, and the construction of industrial production facilities will be quickly started after completion.
He added that Turkey will be able to produce 10 of the 17 rare earth elements found in the mining area. After ore processing, 10000 tons of rare earth oxides can be obtained every year. In addition, 72000 tons of barite, 70000 tons of fluorite and 250 tons of thorium will also be produced.
Donmez stressed that thorium will provide great opportunities and will become a new fuel for nuclear technology.
It is said to meet the needs of the millennium
According to the report released by the U.S. Geological Survey in January 2022, the world’s total rare earth reserves are 120 million tons based on rare earth oxide REO, of which China’s reserves are 44 million tons, ranking first. In terms of mining volume, in 2021, the global rare earth mining volume was 280000 tons, and the mining volume in China was 168000 tons.
Metin cekic, a member of the board of directors of the Istanbul Minerals and Metals Exporters Association (IMMIB), previously boasted that the mine could meet the global demand for rare earths in the next 1000 years, bring countless jobs to the local area and generate billions of dollars in income.
MP materials, a well-known rare earth producer in the United States, is said to currently supply 15% of the world’s rare earth materials, mainly Neodymium and Praseodymium, with a revenue of $332 million and a net revenue of $135 million in 2021.
In addition to large reserves, Donmez also said that the rare earth mine is very close to the surface, so the cost of extracting rare earth elements will be lower. Turkey will establish a complete industrial chain in the region to produce rare earth terminal products, improve product added value, and supply exports while meeting its domestic industrial demand.
However some experts give some doubt about this news. Under the existing exploration technology, it is almost impossible for a rich ore in the world to suddenly appear, which is far more than the total global reserves.
Post time: Jul-05-2022