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.
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.
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.
Thorium is not usable by itself in a thermal neutron reactor, as it’s not fissile. But, it is ‘fertile,’ meaning it transmutes to uranium-233 (U-233) when bombarded with neutrons.
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.