Recently, the Baotou Industry and Information Technology Bureau reported that from January to July 2025, the added value of large-scale industries in Baotou increased by 11.5% year-on-year, surpassing the national average (6.3%) and the regional average (6.4%) by 5.2 and 5.1 percentage points, respectively, and maintaining double-digit growth for 59 consecutive months.
Among these, flagship industries provided significant support. From January to July, the added value of crystalline silicon photovoltaic, onshore wind power equipment, and rare earth industries increased by 13.1%, 27.1%, and 18.1% year-on-year, respectively, collectively contributing 6.3 percentage points to the growth of the added value of large-scale industries. Additionally, the added value of the aluminum industry grew by 4.9%, and the power industry by 5.5%.
China holds 36.4% of the world’s total rare earth resources, with Baotou accounting for 87% of the nation’s rare earth reserves. The city contributes half of the country’s rare earth product exports and leverages the world’s largest Bayan Obo rare earth mine to establish a comprehensive rare earth industrial system encompassing mining, smelting, deep processing, and the research, development, and production of end products. On August 8, 2012, Baotou was officially named the "Rare Earth Capital" at the China Baotou Rare Earth Industry (International) Forum.
The Bayan Obo rare earth mine, located in northern Baotou, is a super-large rare earth-iron symbiotic deposit hosted in the Mesoproterozoic Bayan Obo Group carbonate rocks. The ore bodies are lens-shaped, pseudo-layered, with some occurring as veins. The dolomite and vein rocks above and below the iron ore bodies are also rich in rare earth metals. The mining area is divided into the main mine, east mine, and west mine. The main and east mines have an average rare earth oxide content of 0.8% to 8.16%, with the ore containing over 160 minerals, including magnetite, hematite, and bastnasite. The west mine has a slightly lower rare earth content, with an average Nb?O? content of 0.064%.
Bayan Obo is renowned as the "Mountain of Wealth" and the "Hometown of World Rare Earths." The Bayan Obo mine, owned by its controlling shareholder Baogang Group, is a globally famous resource treasury, with cumulative proven iron ore resources of 1.26 billion tons, the world’s largest rare earth resource, niobium resources ranking second globally after Brazil, and the largest associated fluorite resources in China. The ore mined by Baogang Group is exclusively supplied to the company, and Baogang Shares holds the rights to develop the Bayan Obo mine resources. Baogang Shares’ Bayan Obo west mine is a multi-metal symbiotic deposit of iron and rare earths, with cumulative proven iron ore reserves of 660 million tons. Additionally, its Bayan Obo mine tailings pond has a resource volume of approximately 200 million tons, with a rare earth grade of about 7%, making it the world’s second-largest rare earth mine.
