Large Phosphate-Yttrium (Heavy Rare Earth) Deposit Discovered in Offshore China, Boosting National Resource Security

Since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources has focused on offshore mineral exploration, continuously expanding new frontiers in marine prospecting. A large phosphate-yttrium deposit (heavy rare earth) has been newly discovered in an offshore area, accompanied by monazite and zirconium-hafnium deposits also reaching large scale. Preliminary estimates indicate potential mineral resources of 160,000 tons, providing solid support for safeguarding national energy and resource security.

Phosphate-yttrium ore is one of the main ore minerals of rare earth element deposits, containing 61.40% yttrium trioxide. It is an important raw material for extracting yttrium and yttrium-group rare earths. As a heavy rare earth ore, phosphate-yttrium naturally contains high-value elements and has a mature commercial production process, with global rare earth processing demand remaining high. The newly discovered deposit also features monazite and zirconium-hafnium ores of large scale, further enhancing the value of integrated recovery. Monazite is a typical uranium-thorium-rare earth polymetallic ore, containing 0.3%-0.8% uranium, 4%-12% thorium, and 39%-60% rare earth oxides, making it an important ore resource for extracting uranium, thorium, and rare earth products.

Currently, as a strategic mineral resource, the security of rare earth supply chains directly impacts the stability of national defense, high-tech industries, and other sectors. Since 2025, China has further strengthened its rare earth export control system, implementing export controls on relevant rare earth materials and technologies, requiring the rare earth industry to ensure safety, stabilize supply, and improve order, thereby better safeguarding national resource security. Against this backdrop, the newly discovered 160,000 tons of potential mineral resources by the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources not only serve as an important supplement to national resource security but also represent a significant practice in expanding mineral exploration from land to sea, further enhancing China's strategic guarantee capability in the field of heavy rare earth resources.

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