Chinese geologists made a groundbreaking discovery by excavating a huge thorium deposit—a slightly radioactive metal capable of revolutionizing energy generation. Inner Mongolia’s Bayan Obo mine complex deposits of this metal are capable of energizing China for a whopping, calculated 60,000 years, reducing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels and reshaping the future of clean energy.
The Bayan Obo mining complex alone is estimated to contain a million tonnes of thorium, according to declassified geological surveys. In addition to this site, China has identified 233 additional thorium-rich sites, indicating reserves far greater than previously estimated. Thorium is so attractive due to its energy potential, with 200 times more energy yielded than with uranium and with far less radioactive waste generated.
China has already approved the construction of the world’s first Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor (TMSR) in the Gobi Desert. Scheduled to be operational by 2029, the reactor is expected to produce 10 megawatts of power and assist China in its quest to achieve energy independence. TMSRs, compared to traditional uranium reactors, generate hardly any nuclear waste, carry no melt-down risk, and do not even require large quantities of water cooling, thereby being a cleaner source.
Though thorium is promising, its extraction in an economic manner is challenging. It requires huge amounts of acid and energy, and there are concerns that thorium by-products may be used for weaponization. Internationally, China’s advances in thorium technology place it ahead of Western nations in the race for sustainable nuclear energy. While the United States and the United Kingdom have also in the past investigated thorium-based nuclear energy, China is the first nation to make significant steps towards commercialization. That would give Beijing a strategic advantage in the world market for clean energy.
Energy specialists note that thorium could revolutionize global energy policy and reduce reliance on gas and oil. Dr. Li Xun, a Beijing-based energy researcher, says, “For over a century, nations have fought wars over fossil fuels. This discovery has the potential to alter the global balance of power in the energy landscape.” Western nations are now coming under increasing pressure to accelerate their own research and development of thorium in order not to fall behind.
China’s development of alternative nuclear technologies extends beyond thorium. China has also made tremendous advances in nuclear fusion studies, with its Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) recently setting a world record in high-confinement plasma confinement for 1,056 seconds. These advances underscore China’s resolve to be a world leader in next-generation energy technologies.
