Just found a rare earth 'given' mine, enough for the world to use for 1,000 years: Which country is lucky to own?

Turkey discovers world's second largest rare earth mine

Turkey's state news agency Anadolu Agency reported that Turkey has discovered the world's second largest reserve of rare earth elements.

Image of a rare earth mine in the world.

The Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Donmez, revealed in early July 2022 that the reserve of rare earth elements is located in the Beylikova district of Eskisehir in the center of Anatolia (a peninsula of large in West Asia, within the territory of this country).

According to Anadolu Agency, Turkey's rare earth reserve is estimated to have reserves of 694 million tons, second only to China, which currently has the world's largest rare earth mine with reserves of 800 million tons.

The head of the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said that this huge rare earth mine is located quite shallow, so it will be easier and less expensive to mine. "Of the 17 known rare-earth elements, we can produce 10 rare-earth elements from this mine," said Fatih Donmez.

He also announced that 250 tons of thorium will be produced at the world's second largest rare earth mine. Thorium is an element used as a fuel in the nuclear industry. In addition, the new reserve will allow about 570,000 tons of ore to be processed annually.

This discovery will allow local production of rare elements, not only for domestic industrial needs, but also for export. "We will have the opportunity to export more abroad than we need at home," said Mr. Fatih Donmez.

The world's second largest rare earth mine is located in Eskisehir province, Turkey.

United News of India - a multilingual news agency of India - quoted the Istanbul Minerals and Metals Exporters Association (IMMIB) as saying on July 4, 2022 that the rare earth mines are 'heavenly blessed. ' This Turkey's enough to meet global demand for 1,000 years!

Turkish media also said that the discovery of a huge rare earth mine in the city of Eskisehir (Northwest Turkey) will create a lot of jobs for local people. With 694 million tons of rare earths, Turkey is expected to generate billions of dollars for the country's economy.

"The mining of the world's second largest rare earth mine will allow Turkey to join the world's vanguard in the field of rare earth materials production," said Metin Cekic, a member of IMMIB.

What are rare earth elements? Why is it important?

1. What is a rare earth element?

According to the US Geological Survey, the rare earth element (REE) is a collection of 17 metallic elements. These include 15 metals in the lanthanides group of the periodic table plus scandium and yttrium.

[15 metals of the lanthanides group include: lanthanum, xerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium].

According to Geoscience News and Information, rare earth elements are all metals, and this group is often referred to as "rare earth metals". These metals share many of the same properties, and that often causes them to be found together in geological deposits. They are also known as "rare earth oxides" because many of them are commonly sold as oxide compounds.

2. Why are rare earth materials important?

Rare earth materials are an essential part of many high-tech devices, according to the US Geological Survey. Rare earth metals and their alloys are used in fields such as aviation, defense, space industry and biomedicine.

Some rare substance oxides. Clockwise from the top center (black) are: praseodymium, xerium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium and gadolinium.

In the "Going Critical" report of the US Geological Survey, it says:

"Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential components of more than 200 products in many applications, especially high-tech consumer products, such as mobile phones, computer hard drives, electric vehicles, and electric vehicles. and hybrid cars, flat screens and televisions.

Important defense applications include electronic displays, navigation systems, lasers and radar and sonar systems.

While the amount of REE used in a product may not be a significant part of that product by weight, value or volume, REE is essential for a device to function. For example, magnets made of REE usually make up only a fraction of the total weight, but without them, the main shaft motors and voice coils of desktop and laptop computers would not be able to function.

In 1993, 38% of world REE production was in China, 33% in the US, 12% in Australia, and 5% in Malaysia, and 5% in India. Several other countries, including Brazil, Canada, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Thailand, make up the rest.

However, in 2008, China accounted for more than 90% of world REE production, and by 2011 China accounted for 97% of world production.

The role of rare earth materials in the specific field

In technology

Over the past 20 years, there has been an explosion in demand for many items requiring rare earth metals, says Geoscience News and Information. 20 years ago, very few people owned mobile phones, but today more than 5 billion people own mobile devices.

The use of rare earth elements in computers has grown as fast as mobile phones. Many rechargeable batteries are made of rare earth compounds. Demand for batteries is being driven by demand for portable electronic devices (besides mobile phones) such as e-readers, laptops and cameras.

In the tram

A few kilograms of rare earth compounds are found in batteries that power all electric and hybrid electric vehicles. As concerns about energy independence, climate change and other issues drive the sale of electric and hybrid vehicles, demand for batteries made of rare earth compounds will grow even faster on a global scale.

In addition, rare earths are used as catalysts, phosphorus and polishing compounds. They are used to control air pollution, illuminate screens on electronic devices, and polish optical quality glass. All of these products are expected to experience a surge in demand.

Other substances can be substituted for rare earth elements in their most important uses; however, these alternatives are often less effective and expensive.

In defense

Rare earth elements play an essential role in national defense. The military uses night vision goggles, precision-guided weapons, communications equipment, GPS devices, batteries, and other defense electronics. And all of them require the presence of rare earth materials.

Rare earth metals are the main ingredient for making very hard alloys used in armored vehicles. Substitutes can be used for rare earth materials in some defense applications, however, such substitutes are often ineffective and reduce military superiority.

Are rare earth elements really "rare"?

The rare earth element is not so "rare" as its name suggests. In fact, rare earth elements are relatively abundant in the Earth's crust, but their extractable concentrations are less common than most other ores.

Thulium and lutetium are the two least abundant rare earth elements - but they both have an average abundance in the Earth's crust nearly 200 times greater than the amount of gold in the Earth's crust. However, these two rare earth elements are very difficult to mine because it would be difficult to find them in concentrations high enough to be extracted economically.

The most abundant rare earth elements are: cerium, yttrium, lanthanum and neodymium. They have average abundances in the Earth's crust similar to commonly used industrial metals such as chromium, nickel, zinc, molybdenum, tin, tungsten and lead.

However, the problem that makes them 'rare' is that they are rarely found in concentrations that are economically extractable.

In the world, China is the world's largest producer of rare earth materials [in 2011 when it controlled about 97% of world production of rare earths]. Besides, China is also the largest consumer. They use rare earths mainly to manufacture electronic products for domestic and export markets, Geoscience News and Information reported.

Meanwhile, Japan and the US are the second and third largest consumers of rare earth materials in the world.

Besides China, other countries have also started producing rare earths about 10 years ago.

Mines in Australia started producing rare earth oxides in 2011. In 2012 and 2013, they supplied about 2% to 3% of world production.

Mountain Pass rare earth mine, aerial photo. This large open pit mine is located in the Clark Mountains, California, USA. Operated by Molycorp, it is the only rare earth oxide (REO) mine in the Western Hemisphere.

In 2012, the Mountain Pass mine in California returned to operation, helping the US produce about 4% of the world's rare earth materials in 2013. Rare earth material production in Brazil, Malaysia, Russia, and Thailand Lan continues or increases.

With Turkey's discovery of the world's second largest rare earth mine, many countries hope that this will be an abundant supply of rare earths in the context that the world is in need of rare earth materials for many important industries.