Turkey has uncovered a rare earth element reserve in central Anatolia that is said to be the world’s second-largest, after decades of research and excavations that were run periodically and failed to yield concrete results.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last month announced the discovery of the massive rare element field in Eskişehir’s Beylikova district, which is estimated to hold reserves of around 694 million tons.

It is second only to China, which currently has the largest rare element field with reserves of 800 million tons.

The elements are used in fields such as aviation, defense, the space industry and biomedicine.

The state mining company Eti Maden said some 1,200 tons of ore would be processed annually at a pilot facility in the first stage. This figure is expected to reach as much as 570,000 tons with a major investment in a larger industrial facility in the near future.

Some 10,000 tons of rare earth oxide, 72,000 tons of barite, 70,000 tons of fluorite and 250 tons of thorium, an element used as fuel in the nuclear industry, are estimated to be produced from the processed ore.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez earlier this month said it would be less costly to extract elements, as the reserve is extremely close to the surface.

"Of the 17 known rare elements, we will be able to produce 10 here," he said.

The discovery will allow local production of rare elements that will primarily be used in Turkey’s industrial sectors but also for export.

Periodical explorations

Exploration works in Beylikova were run since the 1950s, its mayor, Özkan Alp, said, citing dozens of past studies that failed to yield results.

Yet, Alp stressed that "it has been known for many years that there is a mine here."

He also cited past excavations by a team of French researchers who he said had taken samples from the area.

The Mineral Research and Exploration General Directorate (MTA) also ran periodic drilling in the region back in the 1970s, Alp told the Turkish Sabah daily.

"There are drilling wells that were set up in those times. There is a date inscribed on those wells, too," he said. "However, the studies conducted were not finalized and there were no developments regarding the samples that were obtained."

Alp said works were conducted periodically, running from three months to seven months, before eventually being halted, despite consistent beliefs by engineers about very valuable reserves in the area.

"The citizens also knew that there were mines there, but this was not turning into an investment."

Berat Albayrak: Actual architect

The arrival of Berat Albayrak, former energy and natural resources and treasury and finance minister, proved to be a turning point, Alp said.

As energy minister, Albayrak accomplished a great number of projects that aimed to reduce Turkey’s dependency on external resources, particularly spearheading efforts on renewable resources and hydrocarbon explorations.

He resigned from his post in November 2020, citing health issues.

Alp says Albayrak is the actual architect of the discovery in Beylikova.

"We must give everyone their due here. Our former Minister Berat Albayrak had launched the new mining strategy. As part of the strategy, the mining law in Turkey changed, and strategic mines turned to fields with high added value," he said.