A northern Chinese region that boasts the world’s biggest rare earth element (REE) mine is looking to develop its second-largest city, Baotou, into a world-leading hub for critical materials.
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And analysts say the effort could further shore up China’s leading position in the supply chain.
In a 10-year development plan, which includes intentions to build a “solid ecological security barrier”, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region said it will make comprehensive progress on the protection and integrated use of critical minerals, launch a new round of strategic mine-exploration work, and accelerate the development of high-end rare earth functional materials.
The plan, issued on Wednesday and extending through 2035, says the application structure and spatial layouts for critical minerals will be optimised, and that the efficiency of resource utilisation will be enhanced.
Inner Mongolia is home to the Bayan Obo mine, which accounts for more than 40 per cent of the world’s known rare earth element reserves, and for nearly half of the global rare earth production, according to NS Energy Business, a news and analysis platform for the energy industry.
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Rajiv Biswas, CEO of research firm Asia-Pacific Economics, said: “The strategic initiative to develop Baotou into an integrated rare earths supply-chain hub will further strengthen China’s position as the world’s REE producer.”
And he spoke to how “large-scale new investment of magnets using REE materials at Baotou will strengthen China’s global leadership in the production of magnets for new electric vehicles and wind turbines for renewable energy”.