Minister Bayraktar Signed in China
Türkiye, which has the world's second largest reserves of rare earth elements in a single area, has signed an important agreement with China, which has a serious technological accumulation in this field. The “Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Natural Resources and Mining” was signed by the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Guanghuatar. Commenting on the agreement, Minister Bayraktar said, “We aim to advance our cooperation in all areas of mining, especially in critical minerals in Türkiye.”
Demand Will Increase 4-Fold
Minister Bayraktar attended the International Mining Conference in Tianjin, China. Delivering a speech at the ministerial forum of the conference, Bayraktar said, “Critical minerals are essential for both national security and economic growth, and according to the International Energy Agency, the demand for critical minerals required for clean energy technologies will increase 4 times by 2040 in order to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
We are Ready for Cooperation
Bayraktar stated that Türkiye established the Institute of Rare Earth Elements in 2020 and said, “In 2022, we discovered the world's second largest Rare Earth Element Reserve in Eskişehir and we aim to establish an industrial facility that will purify 570 thousand tons of rare elements annually. We are ready to cooperate with all countries in Africa, West and Central Asia.”
Signatures Signed
Following the conference, Minister Bayraktar met with Chinese Minister of Natural Resources Wang Guanghua. Following the meeting, the two ministers signed the “Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Natural Resources and Mining”.
Concrete projects
Sharing a post on his social media account regarding the agreement, Bayraktar said, “Today, when the global mining industry is going through a critical period, joint projects to be developed between China and Türkiye in the field of mining have great potential. With the agreement we have signed, we aim to advance our cooperation in all areas of mining, and especially to work together on critical minerals in Türkiye. I hope that the agreement will be beneficial for both countries and will turn into concrete projects as soon as possible.”
Second Signature in 5 Months
Minister Bayraktar also visited China in May and met with Zhang Jianhua, Chairman of the National Energy Administration of China, and signed the “Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Energy Transformation”. Bayraktar also met with Minister of Natural Resources Guanghua during his visit 5 months ago.