According to the Turkish newspaper Sabah (12.07.22) deposits of rare earths were discovered in the region of Eskişehir in central Asia Minor. In a review of the Turkish press by the GTP, it is noted that the publication mentions that the deposit in question is the second largest in the world.
In the first stage, 1200 tons of ore will be extracted, while later it is planned to create an industrial facility for the extraction of 570 thousand tons of ore per year. The processing of the ores is expected to produce 10 thousand tons of rare earth oxides, 72 thousand tons of barite, 70 thousand tons of fluorite and 250 tons of thorium.
According to Deria Maraslioglou, Head of Technology Development at the state-owned Mining and Chemicals company Eti Maden, thorium is used in the defense and aerospace industries, renewable energy and various technology devices including mobile phones. It is estimated that in the future it will be able to be used in nuclear power plants replacing uranium.
Rare earth elements are used in fields such as fiber optics, satellite communications, smart rockets, fuel cells, medical imaging, and energy storage systems and electric cars.
Rare earth elements are also widely used in the glass and ceramics industry, the metallurgical industry, laser production and magnet production, the paper said.
sigmalive.com