Turkey recently launched a large satellite . According to the "Turkish Daily" report, a large amount of rare earth resources were discovered in Eskisehir Province in northwest Turkey. The deposit contains approximately 694 million tons of rare earths. Metin Cekkinci, a member of the Turkish Mining and Metal Exporters Federation, said that the rare earth reserves discovered in Turkey are enough to meet the world's needs for 1,000 years.
Rare earth, the English name is Rare Earth. Although it is called earth, it is actually a kind of metal. It is the collective name of 17 metal chemical elements of scandium, yttrium, and lanthanide elements. Rare earth has excellent optical and electromagnetic properties and can improve various The alloy's tactical properties are also a lubricant for high-tech electronics, lasers, superconductors, etc.
It is said that for every F35 fighter jet produced by the US military, 417 kilograms of rare earth products are consumed, so rare earths are known as industrial gold.
According to US Geological Survey data, global rare earth mineral reserves in 2020 are 120 million tons, and China's rare earth mineral reserves are 44 million tons, accounting for 36.67% of global reserves. In addition to China, the United States, Russia, and India also have large reserves of rare earth minerals.
In terms of production, my country also ranks first, accounting for 60.0% of the world’s total rare earth production.
Will Turkey’s newly discovered 694 million tons of rare earths have an impact on China’s rare earth industry?
will not.
China's rare earth defense battle
The United States has the second-largest rare earth content in the world, but the United States does not mine its own rare earths but imports them from China.
Rare earth mining and smelting is extremely polluting. It takes a large amount of concentrated sulfuric acid to purify rare earth metals from mineral soil. Behind the production of rare earths are vast quantities of thick liquids containing toxic chemicals and low-level radioactive waste.
As early as the 1980s, the United States had stopped mining its own domestic rare earth mines. It even listed its domestic proven reserves of rare earths as a state secret and will no longer disclose them to the outside world.
China has become the world’s largest exporter of rare earths, accounting for more than 90% of the world’s market supply with 23% of its rare earth resources.
However, rare earth mines that lack control have been exploited indiscriminately.
When exports began in the late 1980s, the price of rare earths could remain at US$10,000/ton.
By 2002, the export price of rare earths dropped to US$3,600/ton.
Precious rare earths were sold at cabbage prices.
In 2006, the country began to realize the problem of rare earth loss, began to take heavy measures to deal with problems such as excessive mining and environmental damage in the rare earth industry, and increased rare earth export tariffs.
The United States and other Western countries that have mines but do not mine them have become accustomed to China's rare earths which are cheap and available in sufficient quantities. They are very dissatisfied with the Chinese government's control measures. In 2012, they launched a lawsuit against China with WTO, accusing China of its protective policy on rare earth exports.
After losing the case at the WTO, China began to change its thinking and made large-scale investments in rare earth refining and research and development.
After years of hard work, China has mastered all key technologies for rare earth processing and production. China ranks first in the world in the number of patents related to rare earth refining. Chinese companies rank first in all areas of rare earth mining and processing.
Moreover, more of the rare earths produced in China are absorbed by China's high-tech industrial production. China has begun to import rare earths from all over the world and has become the world's largest importer of rare earths. is also the world's largest consumer of rare earths. For example, electric cars and electronic products require permanent magnets , 87% of which are produced in China.
After China took control of the rare earth industry chain, in order to prevent the United States from getting stuck, President Biden had to restart the Mountain Pass mine again.
Will Turkey’s rare earths compete with China?
Before 20 years ago, China’s advantage in the rare earth industry was its storage. Today,
20, China's advantage is the world's overwhelming smelting and processing capabilities, which are 10 to 15 years ahead of the world.
The current global demand for rare earths is approximately 120,000 tons per year, and the current mining reserves are enough to last the world for nearly 1,000 years.
The rare earth mine discovered by Türkiye this time is in Eskisehir Province. This province is located near Ankara, the capital of Turkey, and covers an area of about 13,000 square kilometers.
Can a place as big as
be able to withstand the high pollution caused by rare earth mining? Can we accumulate technology to complete smelting and processing?
The United States and Russia both have rich rare earth reserves, but they ultimately chose to import rare earth products from China.
Turkey’s rare earth mines may have a greater significance in providing China with an additional source of raw material imports.
