Under China’s surface it has been found a natural resources deposit so big that it could completely change the way in which the world produces energy, manufactures technology, and manages industries. This new mining project, recently announced, aims to extract up to 45,000 tonnes of valuable materials per year.
The deposit includes rare earth elements, niobium, and more than one billion tonnes of iron. Its incredible scale could reshape global economies, technology systems, and even world politics for generations to come. So, let’s find out more about this deposit.
A deposit that could last hundreds of years
According to experts, the deposit is so big that it could continue producing for centuries. Even though there will be some technical limitations that shorten that time, the amount of available resources is so high it will give China a dominant position in the mining and global energy industries.
However, the project is not simple because the mine is located deep below the Earth’s surface, where heat, pressure, and hard rock make drilling extremely difficult. To succeed, China’s engineers will need:
- Advanced drilling technology to reach extreme depths.
- Automated machinery capable of operating safely underground.
- Cooling systems to control the intense heat.
- And methods to separate rare earths and niobium from iron, since all these materials are found mixed together in the same deposit.
While iron is the most abundant element in this deposit, the rare earths and niobium are the most valuable — because they are essential for modern technology.
Great opportunities and risks
Rare earths and niobium are key elements for many technologies we use everyday like: batteries, electric cars, wind turbines, advanced steel, electronics, and defense systems (among many).
Since the global demand of these materials is increasing, a national deposit this big gives China a huge economic advantage in comparison to other countries like the U.S. or from Europe. However, to obtain benefits from this project won’t be easy because deep mining requires huge investments in:
- Drilling equipment and underground infrastructure.
- Processing plants and refining systems.
- Transportation and waste management.
- Worker safety and environmental protection.
What’s more, there’s a market risk: prices of rare earths and niobium can drastically change. Niobium, particularly, has a small market and it can be affected by any change in the global production or trade.
Environmental deposit under the ground
Extracting resources from a deep deposit also has important environmental risks like:
- Disrupt groundwater systems.
- Cause heavy metal contamination.
- Create long-lasting waste problems.
- And, when explosives are used, disturb underground fault zones.
The ecosystems of the surface along with air and water from nearby communities, can also be damaged. This is why experts highlight that environmental management must be precise to avoid long-term consequences.
The impact of the deposit on global politics and economy
China is already a country that dominates the production and refining of rare earths in the world because it controls most of the reservoirs, production and supply chains. So, with this new deposit, that leadership will only reinforce it. Therefore, this will allow China to:
- Secure its own supply chains.
- Reduce its dependence on imports.
- Gain more influence in global trade and industry.
In the meantime, other countries like the U.S., Australia, and several European nations will witness this advance. They will probably speed up their own projects or look for new deposits in those places so that they don’t have to depend on China. As this happens, the prices of rare earths and niobium will likely shift depending on global demand and production capacity.
In the end, this deep-earth deposit could redraw the global map of energy and mineral power, influence international economics, and redefine how the world sources the materials it needs for a sustainable, high-tech future.