Mogadishu (Somalia Today) – Somalia is seeking Turkish support to develop uranium and other critical mineral deposits, as Mogadishu works to expand its natural resources partnership with Ankara beyond offshore oil and gas.
Somali Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Dahir Shire Mohamed said Somalia wanted deeper cooperation with Turkey in mining, including geological mapping, mineral exploration, technical training and investment.
“Our country has plenty under the ground,” Mohamed said.
“We want to extract and develop them in a peaceful, reasonable and friendly way,” he said.
According to International Atomic Energy Agency and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency data, Somalia holds an estimated 10,200 tonnes of uranium resources, including around 7,600 tonnes considered potentially commercially recoverable.
Geological surveys and industry assessments have also identified deposits of lithium, copper, titanium, gold, and rare-earth elements in parts of northern and central Somalia.
However, much of the country remains underexplored after more than three decades of conflict, weak institutions and limited investment.
Mining memorandum
Mohamed said talks with Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar in Istanbul focused on a 2016 mining memorandum of understanding between Somalia and Turkey.
The memorandum covers geological mapping, mineral exploration, technical training and investment cooperation in Somalia’s mining sector.
“We want to review that MoU and see where we can start,” Mohamed said. “We want to form a technical committee to review the data we have.”
The minister did not announce a commercial uranium discovery, a mining licence or a production timetable.
He said Somalia first wanted to review existing data and identify where cooperation with Turkey could begin.
The talks come as Somalia and Turkey have already expanded cooperation in offshore oil and gas.
Use this corrected version: Turkey’s seismic research vessel Oruç Reis carried out surveys off Somalia’s coast under a hydrocarbons exploration and production agreement between the two countries.
The Turkish drilling vessel Cagri Bey has since begun drilling off Somalia’s coast, marking Turkey’s first overseas deep-sea drilling mission. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said results from the operation are expected within six to nine months.
Long partnership
Somalia and Turkey have developed close ties since 2011, when then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Mogadishu during a devastating famine.
Turkey later expanded its role in Somalia through humanitarian assistance, infrastructure projects, health services, education, trade and security cooperation.
Ankara has built and supported major facilities in Mogadishu, including hospitals, roads and schools, while also training Somali security forces.
The relationship has since moved into energy and natural resources.
Somalia has one of Africa’s longest coastlines and has for years sought foreign partners to explore offshore oil and gas blocks.
Its mining sector has developed more slowly, partly because of insecurity, limited geological data, weak infrastructure and the long absence of strong regulatory institutions.
Successive Somali governments have described natural resources as a potential source of future economic growth, but the sector remains sensitive due to questions over ownership, revenue sharing, transparency, and environmental protection.
African resources
Turkey has also been expanding mining cooperation with other African countries.
Nigeria recently signed a mining cooperation agreement with Turkey covering exploration, mining technology, digitisation and technical capacity building.
Nigerian officials have said they want to attract foreign partners to develop the country’s solid minerals sector.
The Somalia talks fit into that broader pattern of Turkish engagement in African energy and natural resources, but Somalia’s case is tied to a longer relationship between Ankara and Mogadishu.
For Somalia, the next step is the proposed technical committee that Mohamed said would review available mining data.
That process would help determine whether the 2016 memorandum can move from general cooperation to specific mining projects.
Uranium remains one of the most sensitive minerals because of its role in nuclear energy. Any future uranium project would require legal controls, environmental safeguards and compliance with international standards.
Somalia has not announced such a project.
Mohamed said the government wanted to develop the country’s underground resources in a peaceful and responsible way, with Turkey as a potential technical and investment partner.
The renewed focus on mining adds another layer to Somalia’s expanding partnership with Turkey, which now includes humanitarian support, defence cooperation, infrastructure, offshore oil and gas, and natural resources.
