Record #00508Economy archive
Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia, China, is a giant polymetallic rare-earth, iron and niobium deposit. USGS original research identifies it as the world's largest known rare-earth deposit, while estimates of its resource and reserve volumes differ by method.
Current Record
Largest known REE deposit (qualitative geological comparison)
Current record value
The deposit's rare-earth mineralisation accompanies iron and niobium in old metamorphosed sedimentary host rocks. Researchers attribute its formation to complex hydrothermal and tectonic processes.
USGS geological publications describe Bayan Obo as the largest known REE deposit. Historical reports quote varying rare-earth oxide resource estimates under inconsistent classifications, so the record states the qualitative geological superlative without presenting an unsupported current mineable reserve number.
Credible sources support core facts; the comparison scope or corroboration remains incomplete.
Basis: direct confirmation by an authority
A 1992 USGS geological study explicitly calls Bayan Obo the world's largest known rare-earth deposit, corroborated by later USGS reviews. Historical resource estimates are not uniform modern economic reserve figures; developing is retained and no numeric measure is invented.
USGS explicitly states the largest known deposit, but no consistent, current economically recoverable reserve total was verified.
Current Entry identifies the current entry in this archive; it does not establish that the record is still held today.
The record value on this page is organized from the public sources above. Measurement methods may differ; JiLuDB follows the unified method described for each entry.
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