Many questions – and theories – arise when it comes to Mongolia’s battery metals potential. The Gobi is widely thought to hold lithium, graphite and rare earth elements (REE), among others. How much of these is not fully known. According to a 2009 estimation by the US Geological Survey, Mongolia should have 31 million tons of REE reserves, second only to China (44 million tons). Considering that Inner Mongolia, a Chinese autonomous territory, is the main global supplier of rare earths, with the Bayan Obo mine alone supplying up to 45% of the world’s 17 REEs, even a non-geologist will be tempted to guess at similar characteristics for Outer Mongolia. On the graphite and lithium reserves, there were no official estimates we could find.
torsdag 12. juni 2025
Rare earths: “Stepping into the Gobi feels like stepping on the surface of the moon”
“Stepping into the Gobi feels like stepping on the surface of the moon,” this is how most people describe the cold Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia, home to most mines in the country. Others have compared it to Mars.
Many questions – and theories – arise when it comes to Mongolia’s battery metals potential. The Gobi is widely thought to hold lithium, graphite and rare earth elements (REE), among others. How much of these is not fully known. According to a 2009 estimation by the US Geological Survey, Mongolia should have 31 million tons of REE reserves, second only to China (44 million tons). Considering that Inner Mongolia, a Chinese autonomous territory, is the main global supplier of rare earths, with the Bayan Obo mine alone supplying up to 45% of the world’s 17 REEs, even a non-geologist will be tempted to guess at similar characteristics for Outer Mongolia. On the graphite and lithium reserves, there were no official estimates we could find.
Many questions – and theories – arise when it comes to Mongolia’s battery metals potential. The Gobi is widely thought to hold lithium, graphite and rare earth elements (REE), among others. How much of these is not fully known. According to a 2009 estimation by the US Geological Survey, Mongolia should have 31 million tons of REE reserves, second only to China (44 million tons). Considering that Inner Mongolia, a Chinese autonomous territory, is the main global supplier of rare earths, with the Bayan Obo mine alone supplying up to 45% of the world’s 17 REEs, even a non-geologist will be tempted to guess at similar characteristics for Outer Mongolia. On the graphite and lithium reserves, there were no official estimates we could find.
