Turkiye joins Western-led crucial minerals group in bid to boost role in global minerals race

Turkiye has joined the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) forum to cooperate with Western nations on the production of rare earth elements and critical raw materials, in an effort to further break through into the field amid recent discoveries.

According to the news outlet Middle East Eye, a spokesperson for the United States’ State Department confirmed to it that “the government of Türkiye has joined the [MSP] forum” , revealing that there “will be a formal announcement in the coming weeks” regarding the move.

With the MSP being a group of 14 countries and the European Union that all aim to diversify the global secure supply chain of rare earth and critical minerals, the group’s forum – launched this year – gathers together mineral-producing countries such as Kazakhstan, Namibia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan to work toward those ends.

Prominently dominated by the US and EU, the group reportedly aims to compete with China’s own widespread dominance in the field, particularly at a time when the race to produce and mine such minerals increases on a global level due to their use in manufacturing many high-tech devices, including smart phone and computer screens and the batteries for hybrid and electric cars.

Read: Rare-earth geopolitics and potential role of Turkiye

Amid that global minerals race, Turkiye looks to be an upcoming prominent player in the field, with officials reportedly aiming to eventually produce hundreds of thousands of tonnes of minerals on an annual basis. Those include rare earth element oxides, barite, fluorite, as well as thorium – essential for nuclear technology.

It comes after Turkiye announced in 2022 the discovery of the second-largest rare earth element reserve in the world, with a 694-million tonne deposit in Eskisehir in the north-west of the country.

In working toward those goals, Ankara is only at the beginning of its establishment of the infrastructure to build factories and refineries, with the potential up and coming major mineral producer still reportedly in need of the necessary technology and funds. The MSP forum could apparently assist in that by enabling Western nations and their private sectors, export credit agencies, and development finance institutions to see the Turkish government’s project proposals in a bid to consider investment.

Read: Turkiye, China discuss mining, nuclear, renewable energy during minister’s visit