On the morning of October 25, CMEC deputy general manager Fang Yanshui attended the foundation laying ceremony for a 1300 t/a boron carbide project in Bandirma, Turkey. Also present at the ceremony were Donmez, Turkey's minister of energy and natural resources; Yazici, governor of Bal?kesir province; and Kelleher, chairman and general manager of Turkey's AITI Mining Group. The cooperation between China and Turkey in the project marks the successful entry of China's boron carbide production line into the European market for the first time.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent to the ceremony a congratulatory message: “I believe that this project will transform our abundant boron resources into high value-added products and will also make great contributions to the development of Turkey’s national defense industry. I expect the project to be put into operation as soon as possible so as to serve our national defense industry, nuclear industry and other industries. I would like to thank all investors, including AITI Mining Group, for their hard work.”

Fang Yanshui said in his speech: “This project is of great significance for Turkey to effectively utilize its own resources for industrialization. CMEC has been operating in Turkey for more than 40 years. Previously, most of our projects were carried out in the energy and power sector. The present one is an industrial project, which is of great significance to CMEC's transformation in the Turkish market.”

After the ceremony, Minister Donmez met with Mr. Fang and his party, expressing great satisfaction with CMEC's work. The boron carbide project is a major concern of the Turkish President, Donmez said. He hopes CMEC can finish the project ahead of schedule. The minister also looks forward to CMEC's active participation in the construction of Turkey's new energy projects and other mineral resources deep processing projects.