Another new rare earth mineral from Inner Mongolia receives international certification

People’s Finance News, March 29 — According to the Inner Mongolia Daily, the Baotou Steel Group Mining Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as the “Mining Research Institute”) has recently received important good news. Following evaluation and voting by the International Mineralogical Association’s Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (IMA-CNMNC), the Xianhuaite-(La) mineral, discovered and led by the Mining Research Institute, has been officially approved as a new mineral. The international registration number is IMA2025-087. This is the 29th new mineral discovered in the Baiyun Obo deposit.

Xianhuaite-(La) is found in the eastern ore body and the eastern contact zone of the Baiyun Obo deposit. It is a rare earth–niobate mineral. According to Yang Bo, a researcher and deputy director of the Geological Research Laboratory at the Mining Research Institute, the first discoverer of the mineral, although Xianhuaite-(La) has extremely limited reserves, it is expected to play an important role in advancing research on the mineralization processes of the Baiyun Obo deposit and materials science studies. The formation of Xianhuaite-(La) reflects the complexity of multi-stage and multi-phase hydrothermal superposition in the Baiyun Obo deposit. It also has significant value for understanding the enrichment process of rare earths and niobium in the world’s largest rare earth deposit.