Türkiye’s Critical Minerals Breakthrough: Home to a Potentially World-Largest Lithium Resource

Brief Overview of Lithium’s Role in the Global Energy Transition

Once a niche material used in ceramics and lubricants, lithium has become central to the global clean energy revolution, earning the moniker "white gold." Its indispensable role in lithium-ion batteries—the power source behind electric vehicles (EVs), smartphones, grid-scale storage systems, and defense technologies—places it at the forefront of decarbonization. In 2023, global lithium demand surged to 1.2 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), more than double that of 2020. Forecasts by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and the IEA project demand could quadruple by 2030 and grow seven-fold by 2040, driven primarily by EV production, energy storage systems, electronics, and aerospace needs.

Lithium Resources, Market Dynamics, and Strategic Importance

Lithium is extracted from three major deposit types—brine, hard rock (spodumene), and clay/sedimentary sources—each with distinct advantages and challenges. Brine operations in South America offer low-cost production but face water and environmental concerns, while hard rock mines, prevalent in Australia and Canada, provide faster, high-grade output at higher energy costs. Clay-hosted deposits, like Thacker Pass in the USA, represent massive future potential, though technical barriers remain. Australia leads in global production, Chile and Argentina dominate brines, and China controls most downstream processing. The USA and EU are now racing to localize supply chains and reduce dependency on China through new policies and investments. Amid rising resource nationalism and volatile pricing—from a 2022 peak of $80,000/tonne to recent declines—the lithium market remains cyclical. Yet, long-term outlooks stay bullish, fueled by structural demand growth and a pressing need for diversified, secure supply.

Calderas and Lithium

According to a 2023 study published in ScienceDirect titled “The McDermitt Caldera hosts the world's largest lithium deposit: Origin and implications” by Thomas R. Benson et al., the McDermitt Caldera in the western United States is now recognized as the world's largest known lithium deposit. The study reveals unprecedented lithium grades, with concentrations in magnesium-rich illite clays reaching up to 1.8 wt% Li (approximately 43,000 ppm Li₂O), significantly surpassing the typical values found in hectorite deposits. The estimated lithium resource across the caldera is between 20 to 40 million tonnes, making it the single largest deposit ever reported. This exceptional enrichment is geologically attributed to the volcanic outgassing of lithium-rich magmas, followed by weathering, hydrothermal alteration, and the transformation of smectite into super-enriched illite. Furthermore, the deposit's preservation is due to a distinctive combination of closed-basin sedimentation, alkaline lake chemistry, and post-volcanic processes that maintained and concentrated lithium near the surface. Importantly, the study urges a rethinking of global lithium exploration strategies, suggesting that similar large-scale clay-hosted lithium resources may be hidden in other volcanic-sedimentary basins beyond the traditional focus on brines and hard-rock spodumene.

Calderas in Türkiye, particularly the Kırka Caldera located in western Anatolia, share several striking geological similarities with the McDermitt Caldera, positioning Türkiye as a potential global player in clay-hosted lithium resources. The Kırka Caldera is a Miocene-aged volcanic collapse structure renowned for hosting one of the world's largest borate deposits, primarily composed of colemanite, ulexite, and borax, formed in a closed-basin, lacustrine environment. Like McDermitt, the Kırka system experienced intense rhyolitic volcanism, hydrothermal alteration, and prolonged evaporative lake conditions, creating the ideal setting for secondary mineral enrichment. Recent studies and comparisons suggest that lithium may be significantly concentrated within boron-bearing clays and tuffs in and around the Kırka caldera, particularly in fine-grained illitic or smectitic units similar to those in McDermitt. Both calderas exhibit the critical combination of volcanic-sedimentary interaction, alkaline water chemistry, and post-eruptive hydrothermal processes conducive to lithium enrichment. These parallels indicate that Kırka may host world-class lithium potential hidden beneath its well-known borate layers, underscoring the need for systematic exploration and geochemical modeling to unlock Türkiye’s role in the future of lithium supply.

Türkiye’s Borate-Rich Basins: A Hidden Lithium Resource

Türkiye, already established as the world’s leading producer of boron, may also possess one of the largest untapped lithium resources globally. Emerging geological studies and field data increasingly suggest that the country’s Neogene-age lacustrine basins, which host major borate deposits such as Kırka (Eskişehir), Bigadiç (Balıkesir), Emet (Kütahya), and Kestelek (Bursa), also contain significant clay-hosted lithium mineralization. These basins are characterized by thick sedimentary sequences composed of borates, volcanic tuffs, and lithium-bearing clays, particularly hectorite, illite, and smectite. The geological setting of these formations—formed through volcanic-sedimentary processes in a closed-basin lacustrine environment—is remarkably similar to the McDermitt Caldera in Nevada, USA, which is currently recognized as the world’s largest lithium deposit. Both systems feature rhyolitic volcanic activity, evaporative lake conditions, and post-eruptive alteration that facilitated the enrichment of lithium in fine-grained clay horizons.

Supporting this potential, a detailed investigation led by Prof. Dr. Cahit Helvacı has analyzed lithium contents in the boron waste and tailings produced by Eti Maden, Türkiye’s state-owned borate producer. The study covers both historical and ongoing operations and reveals that lithium concentrations in these secondary materials range from 200 ppm to over 3,000 ppm. When recalculated into lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) using a standard conversion factor (Li × 5.323), these values correspond to an average grade of approximately 0.6% LCE. This is a significant figure, especially considering the immense volume of existing tailings and the scalability of reprocessing technologies. The combination of Türkiye’s extensive borate infrastructure, favorable geology, and secondary resource potential strongly positions the country to emerge as a strategic lithium supplier in the global energy transition—pending further exploration, metallurgical testing, and policy alignment.

(Mordoğan H., Helvacı C., "Bor yataklarındaki killer ve ile bazı güncel göl sularındaki Lityumin varlığı ve dağılımı", Yerbilimleri-Geosund- December 1994, Issue 25, page 185-195)

It is important to emphasize that lithium in Türkiye is not confined solely to boron ore, but is primarily concentrated in mining waste and tailings generated during boron extraction and processing. This distinction is critical, as conventional resource calculations based only on ore volumes may significantly underestimate the country’s true lithium potential. Analyses of boron tailings from various Eti Maden operations have revealed lithium contents ranging from 200 to over 3,000 ppm, suggesting that vast volumes of existing and future waste materials could collectively represent a world-scale secondary lithium resource. Therefore, any comprehensive assessment of Türkiye’s lithium potential must account for both primary ore and the full scale of waste and tailings associated with its 3.3 billion tonnes of known boron reserves. Incorporating this broader material base is essential to understanding Türkiye’s emerging role in the global

Lithium Potential from Türkiye’s Boron Production and Reserves

During a press conference held in December 2020 for the inauguration of Türkiye’s first lithium production facility, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources disclosed operational ratios associated with boron mining. It was stated that 12 tonnes of material excavated yield 3 tonnes of boron ore, and 3 tonnes of ore produce 1 tonne of refined boron. Utilizing this operational benchmark and publicly available production data from Eti Maden, Türkiye’s state-owned boron producer, key annual figures for refined boron, ore, and total excavation have been calculated. In 2020, Türkiye produced approximately 2.06 million tonnes of refined boron, corresponding to 6.18 million tonnes of boron ore and a total excavation volume of 24.72 million tonnes. If an average lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) grade of 0.6% is assumed—based on studies conducted on boron tailings and clays—this translates into a significant secondary lithium potential. The following tables summarize the derived lithium content from current operations and known reserves:

These figures indicate that Türkiye’s existing boron mining operations not only support the global supply of borates but may also hold vast secondary lithium potential, particularly within its extensive ore stockpiles and mining wastes. With over 79 million tonnes of LCE-equivalent lithium theoretically recoverable from excavation volumes related to known boron reserves, Türkiye’s role in the global lithium supply chain could be significantly elevated—provided that appropriate extraction technologies and value-chain investments are implemented.