Erdogan: We have no oil, but we have intelligence

Ciner Group’s huge investment Kazan Soda Elektrik Üretim A.Ş. Plants were commissioned by President Erdogan yesterday.

Great investment

 

Ciner Group’s huge investment Kazan Soda Elektrik Üretim A.Ş. Plants were commissioned by President Erdogan yesterday. The ceremony was attended by Ciner Group President Turgay Ciner, along with ministers, prominent figures from business world and citizens. 

 

Domestic and national 

 

Kazan Soda Elektrik will meet 14% of world’s natural soda ash consumption and employ 2,200 people. The export volume with 100% value added will reach $ 600 million per year. With this environmentally friendly investment, Ciner Group and Turkey will become the largest soda ash producer in the world.  

 

We have no oil, but we have intelligence 

 

Speaking at the opening, the President Erdogan, stated that no one could stop Turkey from reaching its 2023 targets. “We may not have oil, gas or gold. We have trona, we have boron, we have coal. And most of all, we have our intelligence.”

“Every penny of the exports to be made from this plant that will operate fully on domestic resources will be written as net input to our country. It is a pride that this facility, which costs $ 1.5 billion, will employ 2,200 people.” 

 

Ciner Group President Turgay Ciner: “Not a single cent of import”

 

Ciner Group President Turgay Ciner, who thanked President Erdogan for his support for the giant investment, emphasized that the soda ash produced at Kazan Soda and Beypazarı Soda Ash plants provided 800 million dollars of foreign currency entry:

While we make this $ 800 million export, we do not make an import even for one dollar. This figure is half a percent of Turkey’s gross exports. 1 percent of Turkey’s net foreign exchange income is made by our two companies. 

 

The most environmentally friendly production 

 

With 2.7 million tonnes production capacity, Kazan Soda is equipped with a sustainable production technology that is environmentally friendly. All production is carried out by solution mining and calcination technology which is the most environmentally friendly production method. 100 thousand saplings were planted around the plant. This number will go up to 1 billion. 

 

Energy Minister Berat Albayrak: “It will make Turkey a world leader”

 

The Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, said that Kazan Soda Elektrik will make Turkey the world leader in soda ash production: “I would also like to express our gratitude to start 2018 with the commissioning of this important investment.”

 

The opening ribbon of Kazan Soda Elektrik A.S. İn Kahramankazan, which made Turkey the world’s largest producer of natural soda ash, was cut jointly by the President Erdogan and the Ambassador of the Public Republic of China, Yu Hongyang. 

 

The Ciner Group’s $ 1.5 billion giant completed in 2,5 years 

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan We have no oil, but we have intelligence 

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at the opening of the plant of Kazan Soda Elektrik Üretim A.Ş. The headlines of Erdogan’s speech are as follows:

 

“Mr. Ambassador, esteemed managers of the Ciner Group, managers of Kahramankazan Soda Elektrik A.Ş, valued Kahramankazan people, who won the title of hero, I greet you with my most heartfelt emotions.

 

Every dollar of the exports will be net input

 

This facility contains both mining, chemical and power generation activities. It is a pride that this facility, which costs $ 1.5 billion, will employ 2,200 people. Every dollar of exports will be written as net input to our country. Our country has become able to meet one-tenth of the world’s soda ash needs, half of Europe’s needs.

 

Ciner Group is also investing in this area in America.

 

Here we are talking about a strategic product that has a wide range of uses, from glass to detergent and animal feed. Kahramankazan, Sincan and Beypazarı region is the region having the raw material of this product. We opened Beypazarı Soda. As the state, we have 26 percent partnership there. It is a power plant with 380 megawatts of power. 110 megawatt of this electricity will be used for the needs of the facility, while the remaining will be transferred to the country system. We now have such a facility that contributes to our country.

 

I wish that it will bring the best to our country, our nation and the Ciner Group. I congratulate everyone, especially our Chinese friends who contributed. I wish our 400 truck drivers shifts without any accidents.

 

We faced a treacherous coup attempt in the military air base on July 15th which is right here. Whether or not the coup succeeded, the powers to crash the Turkish economy were immediately put into action. The Turkish people, who did not care for the planes and helicopters of those who attempted to coup on July 15 showed a firm stand against the economic attack. Kazan is one of the places where the coup shed the most blood in Ankara. I wish mercy from Allah to our martyrs.

 

In the first 3 quarters of the past year, we declared to the whole world that we had a chance to recreate with the growth rate. There was a 30 percent increase in investments. In the first 10 months of the year, we have increased employment by nearly 1.5 million. With the export figure of 157 billion dollars in 2017, we look forward to the future much more hopefully.

 

Today we are commissioning these facilities that will bring a different dynamism to export. 

 

 

 

Turgay Ciner presented President Erdogan with a plaque that symbolizes the raw, melted and final shape of the soda mine.

 

We are not an ordinary tent state

 

We will start looking above our records again in the coming months. Our foreign exchange reserves are between 110-120 billion dollars. We took over the country with a $ 23.5 billion IMF debt. We reset in 2013. The IMF has become obliged to borrow from us. Our Central Bank had a foreign exchange reserve of 27.5 billion dollars. We have experienced a decline since the well-known developments and now we have also secured a foreign exchange reserve of 110-120 billion dollars.

 

Turkey is not the old Turkey. There is a new Turkey now. Despite all the problems, we have faced, our public debts continues to decline against the national income rate. Our principal and interest payments are declining.

 

Our stock market continues to grow by breaking records on record for a long time. When we took over the government, our Stock Exchange was about 10 thousand then, now it is 110-118, it has climbed up to here. Gezi, Çukur uprising and the coup brought us here today.

 

 

 

We know that we are stirring up a hornet’s nest. None of the events in Syria, in Iraq and in Europe is independent of this picture. Whatever they do, they cannot stop us. Some say that Turkey should know its new place. OK, but we are Turkey. We are not an ordinary tent state. This nation is a nation born from its ashes.

 

Now some dirty bags are trying to threaten us from Syria. They wants Turkey to retire into its shell. No offense, but whatever you are, either PYD or YPG or DEAS, we will breath down your necks. There is no other choice. We are already striking with the howitzers. We will continue to strike. We will not retire into our shell and wait for your hit. We said that we will never accept that you try to destroy DEAŞ terrorist organization using another terrorist organization. If we are strategical partners, if we are model partners, you have to do this with us. A terrorist organization cannot be destroyed by another terrorist organization. They will see our point. We made our own decision, and now the operations are continuing.

 

 

The opening ceremony hosted by Ciner Group President Turgay Ciner was attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Berat Albayrak, the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Jülide Sarıeroğlu, Ankara Mayor Ercan Topaca, Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Tuna, Kahramankazan Mayor Ergin Aksakal, Sincan Governor Abdullah Küçük, Kahramankazan Mayor Lokman Ertürk, Sincan Mayor Murat Ercan, Beypazarı Mayor Tuncer Kaplan, the President of the Board of Directors of Ciner Media, M. Kenan Tekdag, Yu Hongyang, Liu Jiaglang, Yuan Zuemin, Liu Shiqia, and Ciner Group Representatives and Ciner Media executives.

 

The speech of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the opening

  

We have a young, dynamic population

 

We are Turkey We are Turkish people. Let them know. We may not have rich natural resources, oil, gas or gold. We have trona mine, just like here. We have boron, we have coal, we have other mines. And most of all, we have our intelligence.

 

By using the mines in our hands in the best possible way, we can turn them into an important leverage for our development. All of our mines have always been exported in raw form. We purchased them back processed. What is that logic? The added value we will achieve, you see, you will see, will multiply exponentially. For this, we attach great importance to the technologies related to our mining. The more we improve the processing of our minerals like boron and trona, the higher the profit of our country.

 

We expect the news of similar breakthroughs in other areas. We now need to become designers of technology, not consumers. Just as it is in communication technologies, I believe that we can reach an important place in this market with the latest technology in a short time. We no longer need any of those who played for many years in our country, those who did not give products despite the money.

 

We have freed the country from being dependent to outside with the projects we have realized in 15 years. It was not easy to come to this point. Every step we took brought unimagined obstacles. We were faced with those reneging their signatures, bringing up new issues that were not present at the beginning. We will overcome all of them.

 

A country that we called ally is insisting on establishing a terrorist army along our borders despite all our warnings. Can there be another mission of a terrorist organization that will be established along the borders of Turkey apart from Turkey? We will be pleased if America expresses its intention explicitly. If the person in charge of one country, the authorities, and the responsible ones tell us that we will fight together, this means a promise to us. Until otherwise, we will stick to that. Our job is to drown this terrorist army before it emerges. There they built a terrorist organization of 30 thousand people.

 

The army you build with 30,000 people will not be able to fully represent you there, and you will be disgraced in the face of your strategic partner. We tell all our allies; do not stand between the terrorists and us. Do not interfere with killer mobs. We will not be responsible for any unwanted incidents that may arise. Take down the flags in the terrorist organization bases so that we do not have to give them to you. Let’s not make us have to bury those who are with the terrorists under the ground. TSK will take care of Afrin and Münbic problems as soon as possible. The operation may start at any time. Then the other regions will follow. These operations will last until there is not a single terrorist left.

 

These well know these types of men. If we are your strategic partner, trust us. If an army is to be sent to Rakka, we will send two brigades. I told them that “Your generals are telling it wrong, my generals are telling the truth” We know them very well. We know how prick, how treacherous they are. The name of this army is the army of treacherous. The one who will draw the first gun is those 30 thousand terrorists. The ones who will use them as blackmail materials are those terrorists.

 

If America wants to build a future for itself with these wild beasts, it is their choice, but we will not allow it. We will never allow a formation that threatens our national anthem. Just like we did in the Firat Kalkanı Operation, we will shatter the loom established in my country elsewhere. 

 

 

The President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is greeted by the President of Ciner Group Turgay Ciner, the President of the Board of Directors of Ciner Media, M. Kenan Tekdag and the senior representatives of the Ciner Group met. Ankara Governor Ercan Topaca and Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Tuna ere also present at the ceremony. 

 

Opening speech of Ciner Group President Turgay Ciner

  

 

The headlines of Turgay Ciner’s speech are as follows:

 

“Mr. President, esteemed guests, welcome to the opening ceremony of Kazan Trona plant. I greet you with love and respect. With this plant, Turkey and the Ciner Group has become the world's largest trona producer.

 

We are proud to produce this raw material which is used in a very wide area, even in nuclear power plants. 

 

When we started this investment in 1996-1997, we had the following data: In the 80’s, the studies on the Beypazarı trona field, the feasibility studies conducted by the leading foreign companies of the world,  reported that it is not possible to extract this mine, and heavy consultancy fees were been paid for these studies. These records are in the archives of various organizations.

 

We took a risk with the company founded with our esteemed Partner Eti Maden Isletmeleri and decided to invest in solution mining, a method not applied in the trona mines anywhere in the world. We also started this business by taking the patent of this method. The investment of the Beypazarı Trona Mine, which was reported to be impossible to produce, started with the legal arrangements made by the President of the Republic of Turkey in 2004 and again in 2009 during the period of our President, it has produced 100 million dollars in foreign exchange. Today, Eti Soda company is included in the literature as an example partnership in Turkey and in the world as a public-private sector partnership in terms of production and it has won the admiration of everyone.

 

Again, Kazan Soda Trona Mine Deposits, was owned by the largest and oldest mining company in the world named Rio Tinto for more than 15 years, and the studies conducted showed that Rio Tinto could not operate these mine deposits, and they sold the mine to our company group in 2010.

 

After 5 years of bureaucratic permission and financing works, we have commissioned this plant in a short period of 2.5 years, after starting its construction at beginning of 2015.

 

 

 

The trona produced in Kazan Soda and Beypazarı Trona plants is exported to the whole world and provide 800 million dollar foreign exchange entry to our country. Important point; while we make this $ 800 million export, we do not make an import even for one dollar.

 

Mr. President, of course we have not been able to accomplish this by ourselves. Reforms you have implemented and the development vision you have set guided us and made us make these investments. Annual exports of $ 800 million is half a percent of Turkey’s gross exports, that is one in 200. 1 percent of Turkey’s net foreign exchange income is made by our two companies.

 

I thank you from the heart for your support to make us the largest producer in Turkey and in the world. We are proud of our contribution to our country. In addition, our group, which provides the largest employment in Ankara, employs 5 thousand 500 people today in its Ankara staff. These do not include the services outsourced. If we consider the employees in these services, then we provide for more than 10 thousand people. Years ago, with the restoration of the historical Beypazarı houses, we contributed to the introduction of our Beypazarı district to both our country and abroad.

 

Today, Beypazarı is the district with the most tourist visits in the region and has developed economically, introducing both historical and artistic art to the world. Kazan Soda and Eti Soda facilities are environmentally friendly investments. We have invested in Kazan Soda facilities to improve beekeeping in the coming years and have planted around 100,000 saplings around our facility for infrastructure work that will encourage people in the region. In addition, beekeeping activities will be developed in an environment enriched with various plants and 1 million saplings will be planted very soon.

 

Mr. President...

 

In addition, we have worked with the Mayor of Beypazarı and we have taken on the education of 180 mentally handicapped children in 2017 and transferred them to the National Education.

 

Mr. President, I would like to thank the people and institutions who have supported this investment with your permission. I want to thank first to you, who have provided the biggest support, then Berat Albayrak, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanism, the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Settlement, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the entire staff for their support in this project. We would like to thank the President of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority and all his staff and the Governorship of Ankara for their support. I would like to thank our previous Sincan Mayor, Mustafa Tuna, the Mayor of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, all the employees and of Sincan Municipality and the people of Sincan, Beypazarı Mayor Tuncer Kaplan and all the employees of the municipality for their sincere and close support.

 

 Additionally, I extend my thanks to all the employees of Denizbank and its General Manager Hakan Ateş who have financed the project when no one believed in this project, when they were told that “you cannot extract trona here” following the studies made in the 1980s.

 

Mr. President, the financing of Kazan Soda investment was used from Turkey. All financing has been used from abroad. I extend my thanks to the export insurance institution of the Public Republic of China, Sinosure for their trust. They provided loans exceeding 1 billion dollars to only 3 institutions in the world, and one of these is us. I would also like to thank ICBC, China Import Export Bank and Deutsche Bank for their financial support.

 

I would like to thank Siberbank Chairman Herman Gref and Hakan Ates again for the support in the beginning of this project. As you know, the name of our company is Kazan Soda. Our mining area is located in the province of Kazan, and our production is in Sincan district. The heroism that the residents of Kazan showed during the heinous coup attempt was very effective in preventing the heinous coup attempt. The people of this hero district has given 9 martyrs, and with your appreciation and with the decision of the Grand National Assembly, the name of our district has been changed to Kahramankazan. I wish Allah’s mercy on the martyrs of Kahramanbazan. I thank Kahramankazan Mayor Mr. Lokman Ertürk for his support. I salute the people of Kahramankazan with love and respect.

 

Mr. President, Thank you once again for your support, welcome, you have graced us, thank you.”

  

The President of the Board of Directors of Kazan Soda, Gürsel Usta evaluated the new plants.

 

 

The author of the Newspaper Haberturk, Abdurrahman Yıldırım, talked about the opening of the giant plant

 

 

Bloomberg HT Editor-in-Chief Cüneyt Başaran assesses the economic effects of the plant

 

 

Opening speech of the Energy Minister, Berat Albayrak

 

 

Berat Albayrak: “Kazan Soda will make Turkey the leader country in the world” 

 

“I how the opening of Kazan Soda Elektrik AS will bring the best for our company in this facility, which will make Turkey  the world leader. I have a great deal of satisfaction from the realization of this important investment. I wish for the best. 2017 was a year we started to realize very important infrastructural attempts with the leadership our President and your supports.

 

Mining will rise

 

We have begun to realize a series of strategies that will provide uninterrupted energy supply to our citizens and our industry. We have commissioned an electricity generation facility with a record capacity with a value exceeding 35 billion liras. When we look at the investment point of 7 billion liras, we closed the year 2017 with an investment that can be regarded as the record of the republican history.

 

We have implemented a very comprehensive strategy to bring the wealth of our nationality to the service of your nation. We completed the 2D seismic survey. We have completed our first domestic drilling vessel by commissioning it to serve our country and our nationality. We will ship this ship to the Mediterranean.

 

We have taken these very important steps that will make our country the centre of these technologies. This figure, which was 20 cents on the sun, reached 11 cents in the wind, 6.99 on the sun and 3.48 cents in the wind.

 

In addition to energy, 2017 was a year we have implemented structural transformation in the mining field. We finished 14 of 18 of the geochemical map sections by the end of the year. We will take a picture of the whole geochemical map of Turkey completing remaining 4 map sections We have started risk analysis within our human-focused, science-focused mining strategy. We have also completed the infrastructure of the new tender model that we attach great importance to in the mining field.

 

Our love, our motivation is a bigger and stronger Turkey

 

Just like this facility, we are taking critical steps to the end of this shortcoming in this area, which has increased our current deficit, in the new period. We will implement a new tender model with a partnership or profit-sharing model. I hope the year 2018 will be a year in which mining will rise. We closed 2017 with the steps taken in every field, with record growth. Those who are controlled from outside will continue to attack and we will continue to work hard despite these attacks. We promise you not to stop, not to be afraid, to step back, and to work much more than ever.

 

Our concern, our love is to become a Turkey greater and stronger than ever. We know very well the purpose of any attack on my country to reach this ideal. For this nation, for the bigger and stronger Turkey ideal, we promise to work harder day and night. I wish your opening will be beneficial to our country.

 

I congratulate Ciner Group, Ciner Holding and the entire working team.” 

 

Images from the opening of Kazan Soda Electricity Generation Plant

 

 

Şişecam General Manager Ahmet Kırman: “We do appreciate our rival”

 

Sisecam CEO Ahmet Kirman, who attended the opening, said in his assessment in his interview in Haberturk Television: “We need to tank everyone who brought such a beautiful and competent capacity to Turkey and the world economy. Even if we are in competition,

It is impossible not to appreciate such a beautiful investment”. Kirman said, “The supply created by Kazan Soda, which is one of the biggest investments in the field with 2.5 million tonnes

will hold a very important place in the world”. 

 

CINER GROUP INVESTS 3.5 BILLION $ ONLY IN THE LAST 5 YEARS

Annual export of $ 600 million

 

Kazan Soda will provide 2,200 jobs in total with the investment in the trona facility with a 2.7 million tonnes production capacity. Kazan Soda Elektrik Uretim A.S., owning the world’s largest scale solution mining, trona production facility, the biggest cogeneration plants of Turkey with its 380 MWe and 400 tonnes of steam production will export the entire production. Kazan Soda Production Plant, which will meet 14 percent of the total natural trona needs of the world will make a great contribution to close the current account deficit of Turkey with its domestic and national production.

 

The President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is greeted by the President of Ciner Group Turgay Ciner, the President of the Board of Directors of Ciner Media, M. Kenan Tekdag and the senior representatives of the Ciner Group met. Ankara Governor Ercan Topaca and Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Tuna ere also present at the ceremony.

 

While the trona product is produced from the mineral resources which are completely domestic, all of the production will be exported abroad. The volume of exports, with 100 percent added value, will reach 600 million dollars. With Eti Soda plant, one of the Ciner Group subsidiaries, this export volume will reach 800 million dollars.

 

This product is currently exported to Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, Pakistan, India, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Brazil, Canada, the United States, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and many other countries, and it will become “the product exported to most countries in Turkey”.

 

 

 

 

WHAT DID THE NEWSPAPER HABERTÜRK AUTHORS SAY? 

 

FATİH ALTAYLI: A PROUD FACILITY

 

I SWEAR that yesterday, I was proud of my Group’s branch.

 

In a barren land in Ankara, extracting a mine that is 800 meters underneath the earth and turning it into an asset that will bring Turkey 800 million dollars a year is serious business.

 

You can say, “There are others who make more exports”.

 

True, but making 4,5 lira import for 5 lira export is one thing, and making a total of 800 million dollars worth of exports, without using a single cents import.

 

For example, the automotive sector has to export $ 1.6 billion to create an added value of $ 800 million.

 

The situation in the electronics sector is not that different.

 

In other words, the exports of this plant alone will be equivalent to $ 1.6 billion of automotive exports.

 

Another issue that is at least as proud as this is the production technology there. Elsewhere in the world, natural soda mines, which only exists in the US, create a complete environmental disaster. Because it is a mining that results in a very high rate of waste and the transformation of the earth into a desert.

 

This facility is a facility that produces almost zero waste and is internationally green certified. There is almost no damage to the environment. On the contrary, 1 million trees and various plants in the field of mining will be produced and it is such environmentally friendly that it will allow beekeeping.

 

In addition, the most beautiful thing is that this environmental mining technology is one hundred percent Turkish production, Turkish patented production.

 

This new facility will make 14 percent of the world’s natural soda production alone.

 

Moreover, in the construction of this facility no money loan was used from either a Turkish state bank or the state.

 

  

MUHARREM SARIKAYA: THOSE CARRYIN “KAZAN” FORWARD  

 

Those who knew the land and the soil of this country said, “There is a mine here.”

 

Those who lived tens of thousands of kilometres away wrote their “feasibility report”, considering their own interests, claiming that the mine could not be extracted.

 

The bureaucracy believed them instead of us.

 

However, the writer of the feasibility report were the ones who extracted the mine in their own country.

 

Monopoly would be shaken if it was to be extracted in Turkey.

 

Those who made their own beliefs did not dread, undertook the whole responsibility, despite the claim in the feasibility reports from the USA suggesting that there was a huge underground sea above the mine.

 

They insisted that there was no water on a scale of sea size there.

 

The politics also heard the voice of those who pursued their belief in 2004; they noticed the truth of what the locals say, not the reports of the others.

 

THEY PRODUCED THE TECHNOLOGY

 

However, by 2009, when it was surfaced, they developed the example technology and got the patent.

 

They showed the public that this county has enough trona, which is the basic substance, from dust to make-up materials, from glass to textile.

 

As if it was not enough, they also showed how a public-private sector partnership should actually be.

 

They realized a similar social responsibility practised in Çayırhan before, and along with building a school for the disabled, they ensured the restoration of the authentic stone houses of the region true to their origin.

 

They did not stop there; they produced the best grape varieties and pekmez with 30 decares of vineyards; while they shared the agricultural knowledge, they had with the surrounding villagers.

 

WORLD LEADER

 

While they struggled to extract the mine, Rio Tinto company, which was allowed to extract the same mine in Kazan region, could not go one step further despite the passing 15 years.

 

They claimed that it was impossible to extract the mine by the method that was practised in USA.

 

An agreement was made with Rio Tinto company, the mining area was purchased and 1.5 billion dollars were invested, thus, in 2.5 years, they extracted the so-called “Unextractable” mine started to export it as an export product.

 

And also they generated 380 megawatts of electricity with the mining technology.

 

Ciner Group Kazan Soda and Electricity Facility, which has zero impact on the environment and which has “Green Product Certification”, made Turkey the world leader in trona production. This means that, excluding China, 25% of the world market uses the trona extracted by Ciner Group from Turkey.

 

Being unique is not limited to this; in terms of both the product and the creation of new technology, they extract the only mine that can be wholly exported to more than 40 countries in the world.

 

Without a single import entry, they make $ 800 million worth of exports.

 

The facility, opened by the President Erdogan yesterday, provides employment to 2 thousand 200 people, and also started working towards bringing beekeeping to Kahramankazan region with a hundred thousand saplings, and which will reach a million.

 

To sum up, not only a facility was opened in Kazan yesterday, but there also was success story of those who carry boiler cooking the meals of the country. 

 

NİHAL BENGİSU KARACA: FROM “IMPOSSIBLE” REPORTS to WORLD LEADERSHIP 

 

Yesterday, Kazan Soda Elektrik Üretim AS facilities were opened with Ciner Group’s investment cost of 1.5 billion USD. Thanks to the plant in question, Turkey become the largest “trona” producer in the world.

 

Soda ash is obtained from the “trona” mine. Beypazarı, Sincan and Kazan in Turkey has a lot more trona than boron. Trona mine is needed for heavy and light soda ash raw materials used in many areas from detergent to glass, from paper production to textile, from chemical industry to nuclear power plants.

 

Why do we hear this mine just now? It could have contributed to our production, to our industry much sooner, but it did not. Why now?

 

Turgay Ciner gave the answer yesterday at the opening speech:

 

“The feasibility studies that were made after paying high consultancy fees to the world’s leading foreign companies for the Beypazarı trona area in the 80’s have reported that it was not possible to extract this mine. These records are in the archives of various organizations.”

 

However, how was it possible that the extraction of the mine and the production of soda ash raw material were possible?

 

By taking the risk. By trying the solution mining, a method that has never been applied to the trona mines anywhere in the world, by working until success. The result is successful. We could extract the mines and also not the patent of the method is owned by Turkey.

 

There is a giant plant on the Beypazarı trona mine that was reported to be impossible. The trona produced in Kazan Soda and Beypazarı Trona plants is exported to the whole world and provide 800 million dollar foreign exchange entry to Turkey. The important thing is that this export figure was realized without any imports in the export-related items. 800 million dollars export, without an even a $ 1 import entry. This data is important. Because the notions of “national” and “domestic” are more valuable when they are supported. 

 

SEVİLAY YILMAN: LARGEST ONE OF THE WORLD, PRIDE OF TURKEY: KAZAN SODA 

 

They say it cannot be described but only experienced! This is also the case with Kazan Soda Facility, which has been opened in the Kahramankazan District of Ankara, which was identified with the coup attempt of 15 July. It cannot be explained, you need to go and see. A great investment, a great job! It was not just me, but everyone was speechless with the glory of the giant plant in yesterday’s opening. It was quite cold, we could not see the entire facility but my esteemed readers, I want to say that Kazan Soda is a project that will make every citizen of the Republic of Turkey with its 2.7 million tonnes of production capacity and which will provide employment to a total of 2 thousand 200 people. The biggest project of Turkey in the recent years, all carried out with the local and national equity.

 

As you know, this huge investment project was opened jointly by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Energy Minister Berat Albayrak. I do not know whether you can see the opening and the speeches made there, but the trona in Kazan Soda Plant is a product that can be obtained entirely from domestic mineral resources. The entire production will be exported and Kazan Soda Production Plant, which will meet 14 percent of the total natural trona needs of the world will make a great contribution to close the current account deficit of Turkey with its domestic and national production.

 

The volume of exports, with 100 percent added value, will reach 600 million dollars annually. With Eti Soda plant, one of the Ciner Group subsidiaries, this export volume will reach 800 million dollars. This product is currently exported to Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, Pakistan, India, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Brazil, Canada, the United States, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and many other countries, and it will become “the product exported to most countries in Turkey”.

 

With best wishes, enjoy it... A huge investment, a huge job! I hope this huge accomplishment will contribute to tell that being national, patriotism is being able to give what you earn from Turkey back to Turkey. In addition, I hope it sets an example to the businesspeople that are trying to take what they earn abroad due to the difficult times faced by Turkey.

 

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM: THE FIRST WORLD LEADERSHIP IN INDUSTRY IS WITH TRONA 

 

In the recent years, we have not seen any the industrial investments starting from scratch. Machinery and equipment investments were not rising until the third quarter of last year. The most concrete example of the revitalization of investments since the third quarter was the opening of the Kazan Soda Electricity Generation Facility opened by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday. This investment of Ciner Group has made Turkey the world's largest trona producer. For the first time, we became a world leader in an industrial product.

 

- The trona, which has a 15 billion dollar market in the world is also the 10^th most commonly used chemical. Trona is used as a raw material for glass, in detergent and cleaning production, as food and drug additive and as additive in chemicals.

 

- Kazan Soda Electricity Generation was founded on a thousand-acre area in the Kahramankazan district of Ankara with an investment of USD 1.5 billion. Here, the trona mine is extracted from 650 meters below the ground with pipes without any men and machinery. Hot water is supplied from one end of the pipe, and the melted trona is extracted from the other end of the pipe.

 

- The waste, which is nearly 75% in the world’s production, is close to zero and it comes out as salt. This salt can be used on roads. In this respect, the plants have the most environmentally friendly production technology. This new method has also received a worldwide patent.

 

- Electricity is also produced in the facilities. 3 thousand people are employed, with 2.200 people directly and 800 people indirectly.

 

- The Kahramankazan trona reserve can cover 46 years of production with 1.65 billion tonnes. With an annual production capacity of 2.7 million tonnes, Kazan facilities alone account for 14% of the world’s total natural trona.

 

- The mine is extracted and processed and the entire production is exported. The annual export amount is 600 million dollars. All of these exports are made with domestic support.

 

- With the facility in Beypazarı, the Ciner Group’s trona export is worth 800 million dollars.

 

- 33 percent of the world’s demand is met by natural trona, and 67 percent by synthetic trona. Turkey became the largest producer in the world both in natural and synthetic trona. Along with Kazan Soda, producing 2.7 million tonnes in Beypazarı, Eti Soda is producing 1.8 million tonnes. Ciner Resources, a trona producer purchased in the US, produces 2.5 million tonnes. Thus, the Ciner Group has become the world’s largest producers of trona with 7 million tonnes of production. Ciner Group is followed by German Solvay with 6.5 million tonnes and Indian Tata with 5 million tonnes.

 

- According to the information given by Ciner Group President Turgay Ciner who spoke at the opening, the facilities were built in 2 years after permission and bureaucratic procedures for 5 years. Ciner said, “We did not use even $ 1 of imports for the $ 800 million in exports. We provide the biggest private sector employment in Ankara, with 5,500 people directly and with 10 thousand people indirectly.

 

 

GÜNTAY SIMSEK: THE STORY OF THE WORLD LEADERSHIP IN THE NATIONAL AND DOMESTIC MINING WITH ITS GENUINE TECHNOLOGY

  

In the last year, while we have been struggling with strange, interesting attempts that will cause problems for the future of the country, on the economy side, there are developments that foreigners cannot understand. One of these took place yesterday in Kazan in Ankara, which was given gave the name “Kahraman” (Hero) due to its fighting against the coup attempt. Kazan Soda Production Plant, of the Ciner Group which was commissioned with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, also has a very important technological achievement story. Because these mining fields, which have been owned by foreign countries for many years, have not been extracted, turned into products and brought to the country economy until Ciner Group.

 

Kazan Soda Plant was commissioned as an important investment that made the world dependant on Turkey, further from freeing Turkey from depending outside in the soda ash that is produced from trona mine and used in almost all areas. Along with the previous soda plant that was commissioned in 2009 by Mr. Erdogan, the fact that it will export $ 800 million a year without a single penny import tells a lot.

 

CINER GROUP IS IN THE USA WITH SOLUTION TECHNIQUE

The experiences obtained in Kazan Soda Production Plant, which was brought to Turkish economy with the genuine solution technique that was developed fully by Turkish engineers and entered into the world literature will be transferred to the world. In Yesterday’s opening ceremony, Ciner Group President Turgay Ciner, did not mention the investment in the USA. However, following such success stories closely, the President Erdogan announced this news in the opening ceremony of Kazan Soda and Elektrik Üretim AS plants, saying “Ciner Group is investing in this area in the USA”. Berat Albayrak, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, used the expression “Not having a string outside” when he spoke about an energy and mining project that he placed more importance than the national, genuine and domestic projects, emphasized and will use as an example. Kazan Soda Production Plant is an investment in our mining, chemical and electricity production activities, which belongs to us with everything but extends beyond the mainstream and extends further with this investment.

 

Trona is a sodium carbonate mineral. The most important natural raw material of industrial soda ash production. Soda ash is used in the glass industry, detergent, nuclear power plant and so on, so there is no substitute for anything else. Beypazarı region was also the second largest in the world in terms of trona reserves, but it was not producing until the facility was established by Ciner Group in 2009. It stayed as a reserve underground. The first success story was written with the plant opened in 2009. In addition, yesterday the rest again. It will continue even further.

 

WHY DID NOT WE EXTRACTED TRONA FOR YEARS?

In 1979, the trona reserve in Beypazarı was discovered by the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA), and in the 80’s Etibank wanted to operate with foreign cooperation. However, it could not be successful from various reasons. Then the company named Eti Soda, which is a partner company of Ciner Group (74%) and Eti Maden (26%), was founded in 1998. However, they had to wait 11 years to extract the mine. The reason is that both the investment and the technology are required for converting the mine into a soda ash. Foreigners said, “The trona mine in Beypazarı cannot be extracted,” leaving it to the flow of history. Nevertheless, Ciner Group searches for methods and techniques to extract this mine, is working with Turkish engineers. Finally, they make the point with the determination that this mine can be extracted using the solution technique.

 

Until this time, soda was supplied from two sources in the world. America produced soda ash from natural sources, while Europe developed and produced it synthetically. Turkey Sise Cam also produces and consumes soda ash from synthetic sources. But with previously “Eti Soda” and then with yesterday’s opening of “Kazan Soda”, Turkey will no longer need the expensive synthetic soda ash.

 

Turgut Ozal was also interested in the Trona mine. Towards the end of the 80’s, Etibank collaborated with the American FMC to operate this mine. Then FMC did not resume the project by saying “It does not have trade value”. A letter was written to the FMC officials from Etibank and they were invited again, but they were not interested in the project and underlined that it did not have trade value. Then the Belgian Solvay, Europe’s largest manufacturer of synthetic soda ash, was invited. American management and FMX company sent Richard Perle, who was a consultant to George Bush, to Etibank- Solvay cooperation, warning that FMC had an agreement for the operation of trona mine. President Özal, who received the message, called Etibank officials and received information and put FMC’s non-commercial report in front of Perle. Therefore, the FMC book was closed and the Belgian Solvay page was opened. Was it over? No.

 

Since Solvay was a small partner this time, the problem of cartel emerged in Europe. Solvay’s request to be the big player was not answered with “Yes” by Turkey, and the project was shelved. When the Turkish engineers under the roof of “Eti Soda” established with the partnership of Ciner Group and Eti Maden invented the solution technology that freed Turkey from foreigners and started to extract the mine, Ciner Group purchased the mining field, which was opened yesterday, from the Americans and brought turkey a huge, exemplary plant that is 3 times bigger than the previous one. I hope it will bring the best for our country and the Ciner Group. However, it is necessary to know the contribution of the President Erdogan and the unforgettable entrepreneurial spirit of Ciner Group President, Turgay Ciner.