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As trade tensions increasingly revolve around raw materials, industry voices in Türkiye say demand for critical minerals will surge across defense, clean tech, and high-end electronics.
Ibrahim Halil Kirsan, who chairs the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) Mining Assembly, noted that around 70 of the roughly 90 traded minerals worldwide are also found in Türkiye and said the country holds a rich spread of deposits.
He stressed that the “oil age” has given way to a “mineral age,” adding that access to raw materials sits behind tariff disputes. “We are entering a period in which rare earth elements will be very important,” he said.
Kirsan pointed to ongoing work at the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to map critical and strategic minerals and to back related legal steps.
He underlined that domestic manufacturers—from the Togg electric car to solar panels, wind turbines, and defense platforms—will need steady supplies of these inputs.
The Turkish Miners Association has drafted a 12-point responsible mining protocol, according to the association’s environmental coordinator, Caner Zanbak.
He said members are being encouraged to adopt the standard and warned that non-compliance would rule firms out of operations. “We will mine—we have to—but we will protect the environment while we do it,” he said, arguing that Türkiye must bring world-class deposits to the surface or import them at a cost.
Erdemir’s mining arm, Ermaden, reported a new gold discovery near Alacahan in Sivas’ Kangal district: 424,000 ounces identified with an estimated market value of about $1.7 billion.
OYAK CEO and Erdemir Chair Murat Yalcintas said the company identified a “possible resource” under JORC (an Australian code widely used by global mining companies to classify mineral resources) and UMREK (Türkiye’s national reporting standard aligned with international norms) standards within 45 hectares of a 5,804-hectare license area and plans to finish infill drilling by the end of next year’s second quarter to convert it into a measured reserve.
Energy Ministry figures indicate 694 million tons of rare earth elements (REEs) between Beylikova and Sivrihisar in Eskisehir, placing the site second only to China’s Bayan Obo deposit.
These materials, seen as critical minerals, are vital for magnets, batteries, and components used in energy, defense, and advanced technology.
Preparations to build a processing plant have begun, with the foundation targeted for 2026 and production expected within two years of groundbreaking.
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