Turkey’s exports of boron and related products jumped 9% in the first half of the year, as the country revs up efforts to benefit more from its vast reserves of the key material.

Foreign sales amounted to $564 million from January through June this year, official data showed, up from $516 million a year ago.

Turkey holds some 73% of the world’s boron reserves, according to state-run mining firm Eti Maden. It is said to control nearly 60% of the boron market.

The country has been seeking to boost its value-added products of the material by processing more boron and producing semi-finished and finished products itself, instead of selling it directly after being extracted, which was the case in the previous years.

These efforts helped it generate more revenue by selling less boron this year. Some 1.26 million tons of boron products were exported in the January-June period, versus 1.32 tons that were sent abroad last year.

The element is actively used in many areas including technology, energy, cleaning materials, defense, glass and ceramics.

Turkey sold a total of 2.6 million tons of boron products, of which 2.5 million tons were exported, in 2021, setting a record by crossing the $1 billion mark.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez earlier said the country was seeking to generate $1.1 billion by selling 2.5 million tons of boron this year.

Most of the exports in the first half of this year were shipped to China, the U.S., India, the Netherlands and Russia, data showed.

In addition to expanded mining works, Turkey has also ramped up investments to set up new facilities to enlarge its production capacity.

It is soon expected to complete the construction of a major boron carbide plant in Balıkesir province in the Marmara region.

The facility is expected to have a capacity to produce 1,000 tons of boron carbide per year, representing an 8% production share out of the world’s total output of 12,000-15,000 tons per year.

Balıkesir is also set to host a ferro boron production facility that will have an annual capacity of 800 tons. Turkey is expected to break ground for the plant this year.

Other planned facilities include lithium boron plants in the Kırka neighborhood in the central Eskişehir province and Balıkesir’s Bandırma district with annual capacities of around 600 tons and 100 tons, respectively.