The new mine in Yunnan province contains medium and heavy rare earth elements, serving a variety of industries from commercial electronics to electric vehicles.
Xinjiang Rare Metals National Mining Park in China. Image: Chao-Feng Lin/iStock
China found a huge rare earth mine in Honghe, Yunnan province, expected to provide more than 1.15 million tons of resources, Interesting Engineering reported on January 18. According to the China Geological Survey (CGS), the mine is a large potential source of praseodymium, neodymium, dysprosium and terbium.
The new discovery belongs to a super-large ion adsorption rare earth mine, marking another breakthrough in China’s resource exploration activities. The first mine of this type was discovered in 1969 in Jiangxi province.
Ion adsorbent rare earth ores are mineral deposits where rare earth elements are concentrated and naturally adsorbed on the surface of clay minerals. They are commonly found in weathered granite soils, which are relatively easy to exploit through environmentally sensitive methods such as ion exchange.
The new mine is expected to become China’s most important mine for medium to heavy rare earth elements. Once operational, the mine will significantly enhance China’s rare earth resources, complementing a variety of industries from commercial electronics to electric vehicles.
The new discovery continues a string of successes in China’s mineral exploration activities in 2024. In July 2024, Chinese geologists discovered two new minerals, Oboniobite and Scandio-fluoro-eckermannite, in land mines The world’s largest rarity Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia. These minerals often contain valuable elements for new energy, information technology, aerospace, defense and military industries.
China also found a huge gold mine in November 2024 in Binh Giang district. According to reports, there are more than 40 gold veins with reserves of 300 tons located at a depth of 2,000 m under the Wangu gold mine. Total gold reserves at this site are estimated to exceed 1,000 tons.
The latest discovery is the result of CGS establishing a national geochemical database network, which helps create extensive data sets and mineral exploration techniques. To achieve this, CGS has significantly enhanced its advanced geochemical exploration capabilities.
China is one of the world’s leading producers of rare earth elements. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the new discovery adds to China’s already impressive portfolio of rare earth mineral deposits, which currently includes 17 metal oxides with reserves of 44 million tons. Last year, China’s rare earth exports increased 6%, reaching 55,431.1 tons.