China "Found 1.15 million tons of rare earth deposits in Yunnan Province"

In southern China's Yunnan province, more than 1 million tons of rare earth deposits have been found, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Chinese Geological Survey of the Ministry of Natural Resources announced the discovery of a large ion-adsorbed rare earth ore deposit with a potential reserve of 1.15 million tons in the Honghe area of Yunnan Province.

The Geological Survey explained that the buried resources contain more than 470,000 tons of major rare earth elements such as neodymium, a key material for permanent magnets, as well as praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium.

The Geological Survey emphasized that the newly discovered burial site is "another significant breakthrough since the first ion-adsorbed rare earth mine was discovered in Jiangxi Province in 1969," adding, "With the prospect of becoming China's largest rare earth ore deposit, we have completed the rare earth industry chain to further solidify our strategic advantage in rare earth resources."

Ion adsorbed minerals are formed by the adsorption of rare earths to clay minerals by weathering, and are easier to mine and extract than rare earth minerals in the form of ore.