- Published 2026.11.06 02:32
Back-to-back meetings with visiting industry and energy ministers
Discussions on building a permanent magnet production facility in Turkey
JS Link, a Korean permanent magnet manufacturer, met with visiting Turkish ministers in succession to discuss building a local permanent magnet production facility. The talks reflect the Turkish government's interest in diversifying its rare earth supply chain away from China and JS Link's strategy to enter the European market.
Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Turkey's minister of industry and technology, said on his Facebook account on Nov. 5 that he met with JS Link executives including Chairman J.S. Park to discuss permanent magnet production investment and cooperation. Kacır is visiting Korea as part of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's state visit.
This is not JS Link's first high-level meeting in Turkey. JS Link executives met with Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkey's minister of energy and natural resources, on Nov. 3. In the Turkish government, the energy ministry oversees rare earth resource development and raw material procurement, while the industry ministry handles advanced materials manufacturing, so JS Link met the heads of both relevant ministries in turn.
The Turkish government has been building refining and processing facilities since confirming large rare earth deposits in the Beylikova area of Eskişehir province in 2022, aiming to become one of the world's top five rare earth producers. The plan is to foster a domestic industrial ecosystem from raw material mining to high-value materials manufacturing to serve key demand industries such as electric vehicles and wind power.
JS Link is seeking to enter the European market through local partnerships in Turkey. In October 2026, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with ATES Wind Power, a Turkish wind power equipment maker, to build a neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet manufacturing facility. Starting with initial post-processing equipment, the plan is to establish an integrated production system with an annual capacity of 1,000 tons, with a review of expanding capacity to 3,000 tons.
The main raw material will be sourced through Lynas, an Australian rare earth mining company. JS Link previously formed a strategic partnership with Lynas to secure a long-term raw material supply chain. According to the International Energy Agency, China accounted for 94% of the sintered permanent magnet market used in electric vehicles and industrial motors as of 2024. JS Link aims to complete a non-China supply chain by combining Lynas' raw materials, its own technology, and local production capacity in Turkey.
Kacır said on Facebook, "We discussed investment and cooperation opportunities," and stressed, "We will continue to develop partnerships that will further advance Turkey's industrial and technological capabilities."
※ This article is an AI translation of the Korean original published by Korea Credit News; it was checked by automated quality guards and published by the English edition desk.
