Jiangxi Copper Corporation recently announced that in the upcoming six years, it will invest 3.66bln yuan to develop the rare earth in Maoniuping, Mianning, Sichuan, energetically deep processing rare earth, to construct Mianning into nationwide main rare earth deep processing and applying base.

Mianning Sichuan is China’s second-largest rare earth supplying base only second to Baotou, Inner Mongolia, also world’s second-largest rare earth crude ore supply site, and currently, it has 1.57mln tons of deposit. In June 2008, Jiangxi Copper Corporation won the exploiting right of Mianning’s rare earth mine with 2.94 square kilometers at the price of 430mln yuan.

Huang Xiaoping, general manager of Jiangxi Rare Earth Co., Ltd. in Sichuan stated that according to the schedule, Jiangxi Copper will develop the Mianning rare earth mine at two stages. The first-stage project under the construction will be completed before December 2011, and its investment amount totals to 2.06bln yuan, after completion, its annual sales income will surpass 1.2bln. The investment amount of its second-stage project is 1.6bln yuan, and it will be finished before December 2015, at that moment, its annual revenue will exceed 4bln yuan.

Li Yihuang, general manager of Jiangxi Copper Group noted that in the course of exploiting Mianning rare earth mine, they will use the advanced craftwork, technology and equipment to realize the transformation from the extensive pattern of Mianning rare earth to the scale and intensive pattern and from raw material mode to deep process mode, directed by the rare earth deep process, building Liangshan, Sichuan as China’s new high-tech rare earth material base.