China plans to increase mine output in world’s largest rare earth deposit by 50%

Chinese mining company to invest US$74 million in Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia, expanding its output from 10 million to 15 million tonnes

Bayan Obo is a complex polymetallic deposit containing iron, rare earths, fluorite, niobium, scandium and thorium.

The expansion highlights the gap between geological potential and actual production. It will increase mining capacity at one of China’s most important iron mines while leaving its rare earth production policy unchanged.

“Rare earth production is subject to quotas, so there is no need to mine more ore,” Li Yang, a top geologist at Peking University, said in an interview.