Hot on the heels of uncovering a series of massive mineral deposits, China has just discovered a new enormous rare earth deposit in Honghe, located in Yunnan province. According to Chinese media sources, the new deposits could yield over 1.15 million metric tons of resources, significantly boosting the country's domestic industry.

According to a press release from the China Geological Survey (CGS), the deposit could be a potential source for praseodymium, neodymium, dysprosium, and terbium. Once tapped, the deposit could contain well over 470,000 tons of these highly sought-after minerals.

The latest discovery is a super-large ion-adsorption type of rare earth elements (RRE) deposit, marking another major breakthrough in Chinese resource exploration. The first of such deposits was uncovered in 1969 in the country's Jiangxi province.

Ion-adsorption rare earth ore is a mineral deposit where RREs are naturally concentrated and absorbed onto the surfaces of clay minerals. They are typically found in weathered granite soils, making them relatively easy to extract through environmentally sensitive methods like ion exchange.

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The new deposit is set to become China's most significant medium to heavy rare earth mine. Once live, it will significantly boost China's rare earth resources, supplementing various industries from commercial electronics to electric vehicles.

Hitting the motherload

"The discovery is highly significant for strengthening China’s advantage in rare earth resources, improving the rare earth industry chain, and further consolidating China’s strategic dominance in medium and heavy rare earth resources," the CGS posted on its public WeChat account, as reported by South China Morning Post (SCMP).

This news follows a very fruitful 2024 in terms of mineral exploration for the country, with the CGS making significant findings throughout the year. In July 2024, Chinese geologists uncovered two new minerals, Oboniobite and Scandio-fluoro-eckermannite, at the world’s largest rare-earth mine, Bayan Obo, in Inner Mongolia. These minerals typically contain valuable elements for new energy, information technology, aerospace, national defense, and military industries.

Chinese geologists also found a massive gold deposit in November of 2024 in Pingjiang County. As per news reports, more than 40 gold veins, with reserves of 300 tons were discovered at a depth of 2,000 meters beneath the Wangu goldfield. The total gold reserve at the site was estimated to exceed 1,000 tons.

China's dominance in REE

The latest discovery is a result of CGS establishing a national geochemical baseline network, which helps China generate extensive data and mineral exploration techniques. To this end, CGS has significantly improved its ability to conduct advanced geochemical exploration.

China is one of the top rare earth element producer in the world. According to the US Geological Survey, the discovery increases China's already impressive catalog of rare earth-mineral deposits, which currently includes 17 metal oxides with 44 million tons of deposits. The SCMP cited Customs data to reveal China’s rare earth exports rose 6% last year to 55,431.1 tons.

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