Large rare earth deposit discovered in SW China

KUNMING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The China Geological Survey (CGS) announced on Friday that it has discovered a large rare earth deposit in southwest China's Yunnan Province, with potential resources of 1.15 million tonnes.

Critical rare earth elements such as praseodymium, neodymium, dysprosium and terbium exceed 470,000 tonnes in this newly discovered deposit, said the CGS, an institute under the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The deposit is a super-large ion-adsorption type of rare earth, marking another significant breakthrough in China since the first such discovery in east China's Jiangxi Province in 1969, it added.

The new discovery contains key metals for the development of high-tech industries, and is of great significance to consolidate China's rare earth resource advantages and improve the rare earth industrial chain, the CGS said. ■