China has discovered an ‘endless’ energy source that could supply enough fuel to power the country for 60,000 years, geologists in Beijing have claimed.
The Bayan Obo mining complex in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of northern China, could contain enough thorium to supply China’s household energy demands ‘almost forever’, a national survey reportedly found.
This slightly radioactive element can be used to create a type of nuclear power station called a molten-salt reactor which could provide enormous quantities of energy.
Scientists estimate the mining complex could yield 1 million tonnes of thorium if fully exploited, according to The South China Post, which obtained a declassified report of the survey.
The study has claimed that thorium resources in the country’s mining waste ‘remain totally untouched’ and if properly extracted could be large enough to end the worldwide dependence on fossil fuels.
Researchers further allege that five years’ worth of mining waste from an iron ore site in Inner Mongolia contains enough thorium to meet American energy demands for over 1,000 years.
The study identified 233 thorium-rich zones across the country and, if accurate, suggests that thorium reserves in China significantly exceed previous estimates.
The Bayan Obo mining complex in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of northern China, could contain enough thorium to supply China’s household energy demands ‘almost forever’, a national survey reportedly found
The study identified 233 thorium-rich zones across the country and, if accurate, suggests that thorium reserves in China significantly exceed previous estimates. China last year approved construction of the world’s first-ever thorium molten-salt reactors (TMSR) plant in the Gobi Desert. Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 5, 2025
Estimated to be 500 times more abundant than the uranium-232 used in conventional nuclear reactors, thorium has been hailed as a potential solution to the demand for nuclear power.
Nuclear reactors create energy by forcing radioactive elements to undergo a process called fission.
During this process, the element breaks down into smaller, more stable elements and releases heat which can be used to drive steam turbines.
Thorium on its own is not fissile, meaning it cannot be used for fission, but it can provide the basis for a fission reaction.
This is because thorium is ‘fertile’, meaning it can transmute into uranium-233 (U-233) when bombarded with neutrons.
In a molten-salt reactor, thorium is mixed with a chemical called lithium fluoride and heated to about 1400°C (2550°F).
This mixture is then bombarded with neutrons until some of the thorium starts to transform into uranium-232 which then decays in a fission reaction.
As it decays, this uranium then produces more neutrons which convert additional thorium into fuel.
In theory, this reactor design could turn an extremely abundant element into a nearly limitless source of power.
Labourors work at a rare earth mine at Bayan Obo mine area on November 28, 2010 in Baotou, Inner Mongolia of China
Molten-salt reactors also produce significantly less nuclear waste and remove the risk of nuclear meltdown by keeping the levels of fissile material relatively low.
China, which has started to build the world’s first thorium molten salt nuclear power station, was previously believed to have enough thorium reserves to meet its energy needs for 20,000 years.
‘For over a century, nations have been engaging in wars over fossil fuels. It turns out the endless energy source lies right under our feet,’ a Beijing-based researcher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the South China Post.
The expert, explaining the significance of the discovery, claimed ‘every nation has thorium’ and argued that using it could revolutionise the energy industry.
‘Imagine cargo ships powered by container-sized reactors crossing oceans for years without refuelling,’ the geologist said.
China last year approved construction of the world’s first-ever thorium molten-salt reactors (TMSR) plant in the Gobi Desert.
The reactor is expected to generate 10 megawatts of electricity, according to a report by Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute.
Beijing alleges the plant will be operational by 2029 and help China achieve ‘energy independence’.
Researchers worldwide have been teasing the use of thorium – a naturally-occurring, slightly radioactive metal – as a primary energy source for many years.
Thorium is more readily found in nature than uranium, and can also generate 200 times more energy than uranium, according to the World Nuclear Association.
But the World Nuclear Association warns extracting the element in a way that is cost-effective remains challenging.
Researchers say the use of thorium in molten salt reactors would produce less toxic waste in the long run, and could be more easily reprocessed.
Thorium exploration, which requires a significant research and development investment, is primarily occurring in China.
The US has also evaluated a range of thorium-based fuel cycles.
