Turkey’s rare earth bonanza turns rural Beylikova into US–China geopolitical battleground

The farmers watch their sheep grazing in the rolling fields of north-west Turkey. It’s a quiet existence here in Beylikova, where livestock and shepherds outnumber cars.

But next to their land lies what Turkish authorities believe to be the second-largest deposit of rare earth minerals, key to making anything from fighter jets to mobile phones.

The discovery has put this rural corner of Turkey at the centre of a race between China and the United States to secure critical minerals. 

Turkey’s government is at a crossroads, as it does not have the technology or expertise needed to mine the 694 million tons of ore found there.

If Ankara chooses to partner with the US to develop the site, it could bolster Donald Trump’s push to reduce global reliance on China for rare earths. China’s dominance in the sector is a major source of concern for the West, and particularly the US, at a time of global conflict, as rare earths are critical for weapons.

But for the residents here in Beylikova, they don’t want the US president anywhere near the mine. They say they simply do not trust Mr Trump – even less so after the war with Iran.

“If Trump is interested in what we have here, then clearly it is very valuable,” said Sakir Balut, 45, a construction worker. “But we cannot rely on the US. If I had to pick, then I trust China – they aren’t invading Muslim countries like America.”

“We prefer China, because the policies of the US are based on war and aggression. The US likes to wage war against everyone and everywhere,” said Lutfi Bayraker, 50, a local village chief. “China is the more straightforward, less messy choice.”

At a time of heightened global tensions, it’s no surprise that Mr Trump is looking for ways to insulate against China, which produces more than 90 per cent of the world’s refined supply of rare earths in addition to controlling about half of global reserves.

China’s stranglehold has become a major national security concern, as rare earths are crucial for producing weapons such as fighter jets, precision-guided missiles, radar systems and AI systems.

The issue is likely to feature in crunch talks between Xi Jinping and Mr Trump this week during their summit. 

“There are real questions – if any country was fighting a war with advanced weaponry, how long could you sustain it without China?” said Dan Marks, an energy security research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a UK defence think tank.

If China does gain access to Turkey’s mine, Beijing would be able to extract roughly 12.5 million tons of rare earths from the wider Beylikova deposit, which contains elements that can be used in lasers and batteries. It’s rare to find deposits concentrated enough to be worth digging up.

The mine, overseen by a state-owned company, is of such strategic importance that it is closely guarded by armed security officers and gates – an odd sight amidst the rural landscape dotted with huts and donkeys.

Locals joke that controls are so strict that tourists are barred from collecting pebbles as souvenirs. Reporters from The Telegraph were refused access to the mine and told to turn back by a guard.

Access would allow China to tighten its grip over the rare earths supply chain further, turning the minerals into permanent magnets for military use and everyday items such as phones, laptops and electric vehicles.

Beijing has used its dominance of critical weapons as leverage before.

Last year, China introduced export controls for rare earths in response to Mr Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Global supply chains went into a tailspin, with automakers in the US and Europe warning of vehicle shortages because of the forced shutdown of factories.

As far back as 2010, China was barring rare earths trade in bilateral spats, then with Japan. Prices soared tenfold the year after – the first time the world realised the crucial vulnerability.

Years on, supply chains remain exposed. Come November, the world may again feel the shock when a new wave of Chinese export controls are set to take effect.

China’s continued willingness to use rare earths to squeeze rivals in diplomatic rows, trade disputes, and perhaps someday in war, has propelled the issue up the list of strategic security priorities for the West.

“One day we woke up and we realised we had outsourced our economic security and our very future,” said Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, at the White House’s inaugural critical minerals meeting in February, in a pointed remark about China. “We were at the mercy of whoever controlled the supply chains for these minerals.”

In response, US officials have proposed an exclusive bloc for the trade of critical minerals and announced “Project Vault”, a multi-billion stockpile plan. Britain, too, has set a goal to ensure no more than 60 per cent of any one critical mineral comes from a single country by 2035. The EU has set similarly ambitious targets.

“What everyone is looking for is how to leverage the defence and energy demand together more effectively; can we create more diversification that way?” said Mr Marks.

“The wider challenge and question is: Can you really build a completely independent micro-supply chain for defence?”

The problem for the West is that China’s chokehold is almost impossible to break.

Beijing dominates supply chains not just because it is mining raw materials, but also because of decades of state-backed investment in processing rare earths and manufacturing end products.

“China has so many years of technological expertise and thousands of people working on that; the know-how and technology is the best in the world there,” said Sait Uysal, a rare earths expert and founder of Critical Minerals Initiative Türkiye.

This makes China an attractive partner.

In Beylikova, residents want Ankara to attract Chinese investment for refining and processing. But they don’t want China to have full control over their mine.

“We should not directly sell control of our natural resources; nobody should control our soil,” Yusuf Baykara, 68, a shopkeeper, said. “But the Chinese, they can work to import their technologies here.”

Another option would be to ship what Turkey digs up to China for refining. Beijing would then send back the final product – a strategy meant to cement Beijing on the value chain.

Still, neither option addresses the issue of Chinese reliance, nor does it allow Turkey much opportunity to reap domestic economic benefit, as villagers hope.

Experts say China has been courting Turkey for access to its rare earths so they can limit the nation’s ability to grow in the sector and pose any threat to Beijing’s dominance.

“The only aim for the Chinese is to stop Turkey from doing all this, because it is a threat to their monopoly,” said Mr Uysal. “The Chinese will give you whatever you want on paper, and then keep Turkey occupied for years just to prevent the country from developing anything with any other partner.”

Turkish authorities face an uphill battle in winning widespread buy-in to partner with the US, a solution that isn’t palatable to locals.

The most secure option would be to build domestic processing capacity. But it’s a costly, lengthy endeavour, making it a hard sell for companies worried about profits.

The chemical processes involved are also polluting and create radioactive waste – one reason why the West stopped investing as China doubled down.

As the US builds out its own industry, that may be the practical option. But for Turkish authorities, partnering with the US is not a palatable solution for local people.

Political opponents of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish president, seized the opportunity to denounce him for even considering working with the US. Criticism hit a fever pitch after Mr Erdoğan’s visit to the White House last September, during which he and Mr Trump reportedly discussed the issue.

The US has long eyed the possibility of partnering with Turkey on rare earths.

Tom Barrack, the US ambassador in Ankara, speaking to the US Senate in April 2025, at a hearing to confirm him in the post, said: “Turkey also has untapped critical mineral reserves and could become a strategic partner as we diversify from Chinese supply chains.”

But Turkey’s dilemma of turning to the US versus China is one that many countries face as Mr Trump’s actions, including going to war with Iran and disparaging Nato, have fractured traditional alliances and made partners wary.

More recently, Turkish officials have begun to broach the possibility of compromising by working with Europe – for now.

“Europe is our neighbour, and they desperately need these resources, too,” said Mr Uysal. “There may be more willingness to transfer the technology in order to gain final product access to the raw materials; that will create a more sustainable and reliable supply chain.”

Breaking dependency from China will be further hampered as nations adopt more green energy, supported by rare earths, given oil price volatility with the Iran war.

All this risks making China even more dominant.

“The Iran crisis has become such a successful business opportunity [for China],” said Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

Whatever next, the rare earths geopolitical tussle is one that villagers in Beylikova are seeing play out in real time.

More Turkish officials have begun visiting the mine area, speeding past in sleek, black sedans.

For locals, their greatest hope is that these rare earths will usher in greater economic fortunes.

“I wish that this will lead to a big operation and more jobs here, because there are many people unemployed here in Beylikova,” said Mr Baykara.

“All our villages used to be much bigger, but people weren’t earning enough as farmers. They all left to find work in the city,” he said, noting that the main village had halved in population since he was a child.

“I hope that the mine will improve the prospects for our next generation,” said one woman, picking up her children from school. “Then Turkey will also advance in the world.”