GUWAHATI: China recently discovered a nearly limitless energy source, with declassified research suggesting that its thorium reserves are far more abundant than previously estimated.
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One geological survey, detailed in the Chinese journal Geological Review, has now indicated that the nation’s existing thorium deposits could sustain the country’s energy needs for up to 60,000 years.
According to reports, the Bayan Obo mining complex in Inner Mongolia alone could yield up to one million tonnes of thorium if fully utilised. Scientists have also reportedly estimated that just five years of mining waste from this single site holds enough thorium to meet US household energy demands for over 1,000 years.
The survey, led by senior engineer Fan Honghai from China’s National Key Laboratory of Uranium Resource Exploration-Mining and Nuclear Remote Sensing, identified 233 thorium-rich zones across five major belts, from Xinjiang to Guangdong. The study also found that massive thorium reserves remain unutilised in the tailings of Bayan Obo, the site also known as the world’s largest rare earth mine.
Experts already highlighted thorium’s potential for revolutionising energy production, as it generates 200 times more power than uranium.