China may have uncovered a nearly limitless energy source capable of powering the nation for tens of thousands of years. A recently declassified geological survey indicates that China’s thorium reserves—already among the world’s largest—could be even more abundant than previously estimated.
According to a report published in the Chinese journal Geological Review, a single iron ore site in Inner Mongolia produces enough thorium in just five years of mining waste to meet U.S. household energy demands for over a millennium, as reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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Scientists estimate that if fully utilized, the Bayan Obo mining complex could yield around 1 million tonnes of thorium—sufficient to sustain China’s energy needs for an astounding 60,000 years.
“For more than a century, countries have fought wars over fossil fuels, yet an endless energy source has been right beneath our feet,” a Beijing-based geologist told SCMP anonymously.
“Every nation possesses thorium. Imagine cargo ships powered by compact reactors sailing across oceans for years without needing to refuel.”
Thorium, a silver-hued metal with immense energy-generating potential, produces 200 times more power than uranium. Thorium molten-salt reactors (TMSRs) offer unique advantages—they are compact, resistant to meltdowns, do not require water cooling, and generate minimal long-lasting radioactive waste.
A survey led by senior engineer Fan Honghai from the National Key Laboratory of Uranium Resource Exploration-Mining and Nuclear Remote Sensing in Beijing revealed that China has 233 thorium-rich zones spread across five major geological belts, stretching from Xinjiang in the west to Guangdong on the coast, SCMP further reported.
The study indicates that magmatic and hydrothermal deposits dominate these regions, often intertwined with rare earth elements.
Fan and his team highlighted that the Bayan Obo mega-deposit—recognized as the world’s largest rare earth mine—holds vast thorium reserves in its mining tailings, left untouched for decades during iron extraction.
“These thorium resources in tailings have remained completely unutilized,” they noted in their report, according to SCMP.
