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China to expand Bayan Obo mine output by 50% with $74M investment

The planned capacity boost will lift annual production from 10 million to 15 million tonnes, while China’s rare earth output policy based on quotas remains unchanged.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Mining

China plans to expand production capacity at the Bayan Obo mine in Inner Mongolia, investing more than half a billion yuan, or about US$74 million, according to SCMP Economy.

The expansion is expected to raise annual output by 50 per cent, from 10 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes, at what is described as the world’s largest rare earth deposit.

Bayan Obo is a complex polymetallic deposit that includes iron, rare earths, fluorite, niobium, scandium and thorium, with the project underscoring a gap between geological potential and actual output.

The report said the move is aimed at increasing mining capacity at a key iron site, while China will leave rare earth production policy unchanged because rare earth output is subject to quotas, SCMP Economy reported, citing remarks from a Peking University geologist, Li Yang.

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