Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced that Türkiye will soon officially unveil its Critical Raw Materials strategy, highlighting the Beylikova rare earth elements project as its cornerstone.
“We believe Beylikova is one of the largest rare earth element deposits in the world,” Bayraktar said on April 28 during the OECD Critical Minerals Forum, part of the OECD Emerging Markets Forum Series in Istanbul.
Bayraktar noted that more than 62 percent of Türkiye’s installed electricity capacity comes from renewable sources, recalling the country’s target to expand wind and solar capacity to 120 gigawatts by 2035.
He added that Türkiye also plans to build approximately 40 gigawatts of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines to strengthen grid integration and system flexibility.
“These represent a broad structural transformation, with critical minerals at its core. In this new era, it is not enough to have resources; you must be able to process them. Türkiye is building exactly that, combining resource extraction with deep processing capacity and high-tech industrial value creation,” he said.
Referring to the 2025 Critical and Strategic Minerals Report, Bayraktar explained that its findings form the basis of Türkiye’s forthcoming roadmap. He stressed that the Beylikova project is central to this vision, with Eti Maden working intensively with partners to establish a full value chain.
Bayraktar confirmed that the pilot plant in Beylikova is operational and moving toward industrial-scale production, including separation and processing capabilities.
“We will produce rare earth oxides needed for permanent magnets in wind turbines and electric vehicle motors,” he stated.
