Sichuan Maoniuping Rare Earth Mine Increases Storage by Over 200%, Becoming the World's Second Largest In Production Mine

This reserve verification is a milestone in the development history of the Maoniuping mining area. Through systematic exploration, the rare earth oxide resources in the mining area have significantly increased from the original 3.16 million tons to 9.6656 million tons, with a storage increase of up to 205%, equivalent to the addition of two Maoniuping mines on the original basis. From a global perspective, this reserve is second only to the Bayan Obo mine in Inner Mongolia, making it officially one of the world's second largest light rare earth mines in production.

Maoniuping Mine is mainly composed of fluorocarbon cerium ore, which is rich in key light rare earth elements such as lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium, and has outstanding advantages of easy mining, selection, and smelting. Its large-scale increase in storage directly fills the gap in light rare earth resources in southern China, completely changing the traditional resource distribution pattern of "light in the north and heavy in the south", and greatly optimizing the spatial allocation and supply chain resilience of rare earth resources nationwide.

In addition to rare earths, this exploration has brought two major surprises: 27.1354 million tons of associated fluorite resources and 37.2277 million tons of barite resources in the mining area, both of which have reached the scale of super large mineral deposits. These three strategic resources coexist with the mine and are extremely rare globally, endowing Maoniuping Mine with unparalleled comprehensive development value.

Fluorite (27.1354 million tons): As the "only source of industrial fluorine element", fluorite is the core raw material for fluorine chemicals, semiconductor cleaning agents, lithium battery electrolytes, photovoltaic glass, and new energy refrigerants. It is the "cornerstone mineral" that supports high-end manufacturing and new energy industries. This discovery effectively alleviates the supply pressure of high-grade fluorite resources in China.

Barite (37.2277 million tons): Its core use is as a weighting agent for oil and gas drilling mud. With its high density and chemical stability, it is irreplaceable in preventing blowouts and stabilizing wellbore walls. It is a key material to ensure the safety of national energy exploration.

From the perspective of resource security, the addition of nearly 10 million tons of rare earth reserves has significantly expanded China's light rare earth resource reserves, increasing China's control over global light rare earths from 69% to over 75%, providing stable and independent raw material guarantees for core industrial chains such as new energy vehicles, wind power, and military industry. From the perspective of industrial development, the combination of "rare earth+fluorite+barite" provides core resource confidence for Sichuan to build a billion level rare earth industry cluster, and promotes the transformation of Liangshan Prefecture from a "resource export area" to a "high-end material manufacturing base".