ETI Maden: Rare Earth Pilot Facility Processing 1,200 Tons Annually Completed in Beylikova, Eskişehir

ETI Maden General Director Yalçın Aydın announced to Parliament's State Economic Enterprises (KIT) Commission that the pilot facility for the Rare Earth Elements (REE) reserve in Beylikova district, Eskişehir, has been completed with an annual ore processing capacity of 1,200 tons. Sözcü Gazetesi reported the announcement.

The Beylikova reserve is estimated at 694 million tons; this figure ranks it as the world's second-largest rare earth reserve, behind China's 800-million-ton Bayan Obo deposit, which controls most of global REE production. As China leverages its dominance over these reserves as a global lever, Turkey's possession of similar potential carries strategic weight.

Yalçın Aydın stated that the facility targets first the production of concentrated rare earth oxide, then separated rare earth oxides. However, he acknowledged that the advanced technology required to process and separate REEs is currently available only in China and the United States.

Yeni Party Çorum Deputy Mehmet Tahtasız posed a critical question to the commission: whether the Beylikova reserve has been brought up in negotiations conducted with the Trump administration and whether Americans wish to acquire these resources. Aydın deflected by stating he would provide a written response; consequently, the scope of any possible U.S. partnership remains unclear.

Beylikova had previously attracted foreign investors' attention; however, dependency on foreign processing technology had kept the reserve at the raw ore stage until now. The commissioning of the pilot facility represents the first concrete step in this equation.