Türkiye is rapidly positioning itself as a key strategic hub in the global critical minerals supply chain realignment, as Europe and other major economies search for alternatives to highly concentrated and geopolitically sensitive raw-material sources.
At the OECD Critical Minerals Forum in Istanbul, officials highlighted Türkiye’s growing importance in this transformation. Marion Jansen, Director at the OECD Directorate for Trade and Agriculture, described the country as “an important player in critical minerals,” pointing to its established dominance in borates and rising relevance in rare earth elements and downstream processing potential.
This recognition reflects a broader global shift in which critical minerals are no longer viewed as simple commodities, but as foundational inputs for industrial security, energy transition, defence systems, battery manufacturing, and semiconductor supply chains.
From Commodity Markets to Strategic Infrastructure
For decades, policy discussions focused primarily on securing access to raw materials. Today, the concern has shifted toward supply-chain concentration risk. OECD findings presented in Istanbul show that export restrictions on critical minerals have steadily increased worldwide. Materials such as cobalt, graphite, manganese, and rare earths are now subject to growing trade limitations, reinforcing global supply insecurity.
At the same time, refining and processing remain heavily concentrated in a small number of countries, particularly China and select Asian economies. In several strategic materials, a single country still dominates global processing capacity—creating structural vulnerabilities for Western industrial economies. This imbalance has elevated countries like Türkiye into strategic relevance.
Three Structural Advantages Driving Türkiye’s Rise
1. Resource Potential and Geological Strength
Türkiye already holds a leading global position in borate production, a critical input for industrial applications ranging from agriculture to advanced materials. More recently, exploration activity around rare earth elements in the Eskişehir region has intensified, reinforcing expectations of long-term strategic value. Turkish policymakers increasingly frame critical minerals not just as mining assets, but as a core pillar of national industrial strategy.
2. Strategic Geographic Position
Türkiye’s geographic location between Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East gives it a unique logistical advantage.
OECD officials emphasized that this positioning allows Türkiye to function as a natural transit and redistribution hub for diversified mineral supply chains. In an era where companies are actively seeking to reduce geopolitical risk and shorten supply routes, this role is becoming increasingly valuable. The country effectively sits at the intersection of multiple global trade corridors, making it a key node in future resilient supply-chain architectures.
3. Industrial Expansion Strategy
Beyond resources and geography, Türkiye is actively pursuing a strategy to move up the value chain. Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar underlined during the OECD forum that “having resources alone is no longer sufficient,” signaling a policy shift toward integrating extraction, processing, and higher-value industrial production.
This reflects a broader global trend: the real competition in critical minerals is no longer about ownership of deposits, but control over refining, alloy production, precursor manufacturing, and industrial processing capacity.
A Shift from Mining to Full Supply-Chain Control
The OECD forum in Istanbul highlighted how quickly critical minerals policy has evolved from a mining issue into a geopolitical and industrial strategy topic.
Participants included ministers, industrial leaders, investors, and policy institutions focused on:
- Supply-chain resilience
- Trade security frameworks
- Investment and financing models
- Circular economy integration
- Strategic industrial partnerships
The discussions reflected a growing consensus: secure supply chains require integrated industrial ecosystems, not isolated resource extraction.
Europe’s Strategic Interest in Türkiye
For the European Union, Türkiye’s growing role in critical minerals could become increasingly important. As the EU accelerates its green transition, defence production capacity, and industrial decarbonization, it faces a structural challenge: demand for critical minerals is rising much faster than supply diversification efforts.
OECD data confirms that export restrictions have increased significantly over the past 15 years, while global supply chains remain heavily concentrated. This is pushing Europe to rethink procurement strategies and expand partnerships with geopolitically aligned or geographically proximate countries. Türkiye fits directly into that strategic equation.
Beyond Mining: A Broader Industrial Transformation
Türkiye’s ambitions extend far beyond extraction. The country is increasingly positioning itself as a regional processing and industrial integration hub, linking:
- Mineral extraction
- Processing and refining
- Manufacturing ecosystems
- Logistics infrastructure
- Strategic trade corridors
This transformation aligns with the broader restructuring of global industrial systems, where value is increasingly concentrated in midstream and downstream processing stages rather than raw material ownership alone.
Critical Minerals as the Foundation of Future Industries
The implications of this shift extend well beyond traditional mining sectors. Control over copper, nickel, rare earths, and other strategic minerals increasingly determines competitiveness in:
- Battery production and electric mobility
- Semiconductor and electronics manufacturing
- Defence technologies and aerospace systems
- Artificial intelligence infrastructure
- Renewable energy systems and grid expansion
As a result, countries capable of integrating resource extraction, processing capacity, and industrial manufacturing into unified ecosystems are emerging as the key winners in the next phase of global industrial competition.
