-The wind is hanging, and it is more time to forge ahead -
Baiyun Obo in the endeavor
Baiyun Obo, also known as "Baiyun Bogdu" in Mongolian, means "rich sacred mountain", belongs to the independent industrial and mining area under the jurisdiction of Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, located in the north of Yinshan Mountain, geographical coordinates east longitude 109°47'-110°04', north latitude 41°39'-41°53', 149 kilometers away from Baotou city in the south, 95 kilometers away from the Sino-Mongolian border in the north, because of the rich rare earth resources and known as the "hometown of rare earths in the world", is a bright pearl on the beautiful scenery of the northern border of the motherland. In recent years, Baiyun Obo Mining Area has conscientiously implemented the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the relevant requirements of the Party Committee of the Autonomous Region and the Baotou Municipal Party Committee.
The history of the development of the hometown of rare earths
Baiyun Obo in the endeavor
"The world's rare earths are in China, and China's rare earths are in Baotou", to be precise, Baotou's rare earths are in Baiyun Obo. 182 kinds of mineral resources and 71 kinds of elements have been found in the Baiyun Obo mining area. Among them, the reserves of rare earth and fluorite rank first in the world, the reserves of niobium earth rank second in the world, and the reserves of scandium and potassium-rich slate rank among the top in the world, which is the famous "hometown of rare earths in the world".
How was this "rich sacred mountain" discovered? This has to be traced back to the 20s of the last century, when the famous geologist Ding Daoheng made a scientific expedition in Baiyun Obo and found that there were extremely rich iron ore resources here, which unveiled the mystery of Baiyun Obo, a sacred mountain in the grassland. In 1934, He Zuolin, a researcher at the Institute of Geology of the Academia Sinica, discovered that Baiyun Obo ore contained two rare earth minerals, named "Dolomites" and "Obo Ore", which were later verified to be baztronite and monazite mines. Chemist Yan Keats analyzed and found that these two minerals contain rare earth elements such as lanthanum, cerium, and neodymium. The discovery of the rare earth ore in Baiyun Obo has laid a resource foundation for the development of rare earth technology and industry in the mainland. Subsequently, the mainland has successively carried out the investigation of Baiyun Obo ore reserves, the composition of the research, the enrichment of rare earth minerals, the research on the beneficiation method and process of Baiyun Obo ore, the research on rare earth separation, the preparation of mixed rare earth metals by electrolysis, and developed the process of reducing ferrosilicon containing rare earth-containing blast furnace slag to make rare earth ferrosilicon alloy. Breakthroughs have been made in rare earth beneficiation, mixed rare earth ferrosilicon alloys, rare earth chloride, rare earth metals, rare earth concentrate treatment, and preparation of single rare earth metals, and 15 single rare earth element separation technologies have been realized. As the "vitamin of industry", rare earth is not only widely used in traditional fields such as metallurgy, petrochemical industry, glass ceramics, etc., but also indispensable in rare earth permanent magnet materials, polishing materials, hydrogen storage materials and catalyst materials. Rare earth materials with excellent performance have played a key role in the key high-tech fields mentioned in the "Made in China 2025" issued by the State Council, such as high-end CNC machine tools, robots, aerospace equipment, marine engineering equipment and high-tech ships, energy-saving and new energy vehicles. In addition to a wide range of applications in the industrial field, rare earths also play a great role in agricultural production and medical and health fields. In agricultural production, rare earth elements can be used to make fertilizers. Rare earth oxide fertilizers can improve the yield and quality of crops, while also improving soil quality and increasing soil fertility. In addition, rare earth elements can be used to make pesticides and fungicides to protect crops from pests and diseases. In medical imaging, rare earth elements can be used to create contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to help doctors see the body's internal structure more clearly. In addition, rare earth elements can be used to make medical ceramics and dental materials, as well as drugs to treat certain diseases. For example, certain rare earth elements can be used to treat conditions such as osteoporosis and anemia.
In 1950, the newly established People's Republic of China was in ruins. During the "First Five-Year Plan" period, the state concentrated manpower, material and financial resources to build Baotou Iron and Steel Company (hereinafter referred to as "Baotou Iron and Steel Company"), and listed Baiyun Obo Iron Mine as a key development and construction project. In order to support the smooth exploitation of Baiyun Obo mineral deposits, the state concentrated the best geologists and the best exploration equipment at that time to carry out geological exploration of Baiyun Obo iron ore. Batch after batch of outstanding Chinese sons and daughters came from all directions of the motherland to the foot of the iron mountain, which was covered by yellow sand and uninhabited at that time, and used their sweat, youth and life to compose the song of entrepreneurship and create a magnificent modern Baiyun Obo iron mine. From the primitive operation mode of shoulder-to-shoulder in the early days of mine construction to mechanized mining in the sixties and seventies, it finally formed the modernization and improvement of large-scale perforation, mining, pulling equipment and railway, highway and belt transportation technology. In particular, in 2006, the ore production of Baiyun Obo Iron Mine exceeded 12 million tons, reached the design production capacity, realized the dream of several generations of miners, made outstanding contributions to fully meet the company's demand for ore raw materials, and set a new milestone in the development history of Baiyun Obo Iron Mine, becoming the second largest metallurgical mine in the country.
In December 2007, Baotou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. built a concentrator plant in Baiyun Oboxi Mine, and formally signed a technical service agreement with the American Pipeline System Engineering Company (PSI), marking the official launch of the Baiyun Oboxi Mine Iron Concentrate Slurry Transmission and Water Supply Pipeline Project (referred to as the Slurry Pipeline Project), which transported the Yellow River water to Baiyun Obo through the pipeline, and then transported the iron concentrate powder to the Baotou Iron and Steel Plant through the slurry pipeline, which not only solved the problem of Baotou Iron and Steel ore increment, but also solved the tailings discharge restrictions, and also improved the current situation of water shortage in the Baiyun Mining Area, saving transportation costs, which can be described as killing multiple birds with one stone. The project has a slurry transportation capacity of 5.5 million tons/year and a water supply of 20 million cubic meters/year, which is the only one in the world and the largest iron slurry pipeline in the world, the second largest in the world, and the fourth slurry pipeline project in China.
At the beginning of 2023, the new natural mineral "White Pigeon Mine" discovered and declared by researchers from the Baiyun Obo Scientific Research Base, jointly established by Baotou Steel (Group) Company and the Institute of Mineral Resources of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, was approved by the New Mineral Nomenclature and Classification Committee of the International Mineralogical Association with a high vote, becoming the 16th new mineral discovered in the Baiyun Obo deposit. The name is in honor of Bai Ge (1930-2020), a researcher who discovered niobium ore for the first time in the Baiyun Obo area and started a research on niobium resources. The discovery of white pigeon ore and the in-depth study of white pigeon mineralogy in the future will provide a new perspective for understanding the niobium element of Baiyun Obo, and the discovery of new minerals not only enriches the types of niobium-rich minerals in Baiyun Obo, but also provides important enlightenment for the development of niobium ore, and also provides a new direction for the search for precious resources such as tantalum.
On June 27, 2023, the project teams of Inner Mongolia Fifth Geological and Mineral Exploration and Development Co., Ltd., Inner Mongolia Land Resources Exploration and Development Co., Ltd., and Inner Mongolia Geological Exploration Co., Ltd., which settled in Baiyun Obo, officially started a new round of prospecting breakthrough strategic actions after successively completing the filing to the resident and holding the Baiyun Obo Geological and Mineral Exploration Project Approach Matchmaking Meeting.
Economic development
Baiyun Obo in the endeavor
Since the development and construction of Baiyun Iron Mine in 1957, as the main raw material base of Baotou Iron and Steel Mine, Baiyun Obo Mining Area has gradually formed an industrial town dominated by raw material industry along with the development and utilization of mineral resources and the construction of national key projects. However, on the other hand, this industrial positioning has also led to the solidification of Baiyun Obo into an abnormally heavy single structure based on mineral resource mining and primary processing of raw materials in the local economic layout. The long-term inefficient use of resources has brought a series of problems such as low economic returns and difficult to solve the storage of highly polluted tailings, and the disadvantages of single industrial structure, weak infrastructure and poor ecological environment have become prominent.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Baiyun Obo Mining Area has actively promoted economic transformation and upgrading, developed circular economy, built green mines, taken a new step in regional development, explored the establishment of a "two-wheel" system and mechanism for intensive and economical utilization of resources and ecological environmental protection and restoration, and implemented the "Top Ten Huimin Xing District Project", and strived to build a modern boutique urban area with "openness and inclusiveness, wisdom and civilization, suitable for business and livability, happiness and harmony".
In recent years, according to the future development trend and requirements of the rare earth industry, the Baiyun Obo mining area has focused on the comprehensive utilization of resources, energy conservation and emission reduction in rare earth metallurgical processes, rare earth new materials and terminal applications, and other common and key technical issues, and strives to make breakthroughs. In 2015, Baoshan Mining Branch of Baotou Steel Company was built in Baiyun Obo to maximize the comprehensive utilization of iron, rare earth, niobium and other elements, and realize the efficient utilization of limited resources. In the same year, Baiyun Obo entered the ranks of "National Independent Industrial and Mining Zone". In 2017, the Baiyun Obo Mineral Resources Comprehensive Utilization Circular Economy Industrial Park was approved by Baotou City to be established. In 2023, Baiyun Obo will seize the major strategic opportunity of the "two rare earth bases", strengthen the protective development, high-quality utilization and standardized management of rare earth resources, accelerate the implementation of a new round of national strategic actions for prospecting breakthroughs, promote the efficient separation of rare earths, iron, niobium and other co-associated metals in Baiyun Obo mine, actively strive for and take the initiative to undertake the implementation of rare earth smelting and separation projects, and accelerate the promotion of rare earth high-strength and high-toughness aluminum alloys with an annual output of 100,000 tons, rare earth metals and alloys with an annual output of 5,000 tons, and 20,000 tons/ Projects such as the green recycling of NdFeB waste have been completed and put into operation, creating a characteristic industrial chain of rare earth alloys. In addition, Baiyun Obo deepens the intellectual property rights of rare earth civilianization and enhances the added value of rare earth raw materials. Efforts will be made to build a national strategic mineral resources comprehensive utilization base, accelerate the implementation of low-grade iron-bearing useful rock dry separation, medium and poor oxide ore facies conversion projects, promote the orderly development and scientific comprehensive utilization of potassium, niobium and scandium resources, improve the utilization efficiency of fluorine resources, support and help Baotou Iron and Steel Jinshi to accelerate the improvement of mining and dressing technology, and help the city to build a 100-billion-level fluorine chemical base.
In recent years, a number of major projects have been implemented in the Baiyun Obo mining area, and pillar industries such as non-ferrous metal mining and dressing, clean energy, and mineral processing and production of chemicals have developed steadily. Among the key industrial projects, a number of resource utilization projects such as the 15 million tons of iron ore stope of West Mine, the 1 million ton concentrator of Walter, the relocation of Baotou Iron and Steel oxide ore beneficiation and the comprehensive utilization of Baiyun Obo ore resources, the supporting service projects such as HSBC Yingshui glass and Linfeng Technology beneficiation agent, and the transformation project of dolomite iron ore rock belt system have become pillar industries. With the grid-connected power generation of Shenhua Guoneng photovoltaic power generation and Gavowo photovoltaic scientific research demonstration projects, and the grid-connected wind power generation projects such as Zhongli Talesun photovoltaic power generation project, JA Solar photovoltaic power generation, Yuedian Menghua wind power and China General Nuclear Power Corporation, Baiyun Obo has become an important town for clean energy production in our city.
In August 2021, Baiyun Obo Industrial Park, as a block group of Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Industrial Development Zone, was successfully included in the "Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Development Zone Review and Announcement Catalog", with the level of a first-class park in the autonomous region, and the mining industrial park was realized from scratch. The 14 park-in-park projects in the enclave Economic Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship Park have been progressing in an orderly manner, the incubation function has been further improved, the industrial carrying capacity has been significantly enhanced, and the industrial chain has been effectively extended.
In 2023, Baiyun Obo Mining Area will implement 17 major projects with government investment of more than 50 million yuan and enterprise investment of more than 100 million yuan, involving rare earth new materials, equipment manufacturing, new energy and other fields, with a total investment of 6.52 billion yuan and a planned investment of 1.94 billion yuan that year. Among them, 15 major projects were included in the autonomous region, with a total investment of 5.87 billion yuan, and a planned investment of 1.69 billion yuan that year. Baiyun Obo Mining Area focuses on the overall development of Baotou City, highlights the "two new" orientation and incremental awareness, and projects with more than 100 million yuan show the characteristics of strong foundation, innovation and growth. The infrastructure construction of the park has been continuously enhanced. This year, 3 infrastructure projects will be implemented, including the implementation of the back pressure unit project, the Kunbai gas facility pipeline construction project, the standardized plant and supporting facilities construction project, to further enhance the park's water, electricity, heating and other elements of the guarantee capacity, and lay a good foundation for further promoting the implementation of the project. Scientific and technological innovation empowers industrial development. The implementation of 9 scientific and technological innovation projects, high-strength and high-toughness rare earth aluminum alloy, hydrogen-based mineral phase conversion of medium and poor oxide ore, potash fertilizer industry-university-research integration and other projects, the organic integration of advanced technology and regional resource endowment, in product quality improvement and industrial transformation has made a major breakthrough, filling the gap in the autonomous region and even the domestic industry. The construction of key projects has led to significant investment growth. This year, more than 17 key projects of more than 100 million yuan will be implemented, and the total investment and planned investment during the year will increase by 67% year-on-year.
In 2023, Baiyun Obo Mining Area will fully implement the "five major tasks" assigned to Inner Mongolia by General Secretary Xi Jinping and the spirit of the important instructions of "one innovation, three realizations" for Baotou City, combine regional realities, accurately target and explore new paths for the transformation and development of resource-based areas, actively develop advantageous industries, cultivate a solid background of green development, make unremitting efforts, work silently, and diligently pursue, and achieve the first place in the growth rate of regional GDP in the first three quarters and the first place in the growth rate of industrial added value in the city. The growth rate of fixed asset investment ranked first in the city, and the growth rate of general public budget revenue ranked first in the city.
Development of people's livelihood undertakings
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that it is necessary to realize, safeguard and develop the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people, firmly grasp the most direct and realistic interests of the people, insist on doing our best and doing what we can, go deep into the masses and grassroots level, take more measures to benefit the people's livelihood and warm the hearts of the people, and strive to solve the problems of the people's urgency.
In order to benefit the fruits of economic development to the life that the people are looking forward to, the Baiyun Obo Mining District Committee and the district government have given a practical answer.
Eating and drinking are getting sweeter and sweeter. Invest nearly 200 million yuan to start the water purification plant project in an all-round way, renovate all the secondary water supply pipe networks in the whole region, and effectively solve the problem of production and domestic water in the mining areas; speed up the completion of the renovation project of the water supply pipe network from the four water sources to the urban area, completely put an end to the leakage in the middle of the water supply, and comprehensively guarantee the quantity of water supply; strive to strengthen the operation and management of the water purification plant, and comprehensively guarantee the quality of water supply; speed up the implementation of the work of direct drinking water to households, and realize the full coverage of direct drinking water to households in the whole region as soon as possible, so that the people in the mining areas can drink higher quality and sweeter water one by one." Healthy Water". Eight modern organic vegetable greenhouses were built, and the residents in the mining area ate the organic vegetables grown at their doorsteps for the first time.
Housing is becoming more and more livable. Today, walking into the streets and alleys of the Baiyun Obo mining area, the dilapidated, low-rise bungalows have long been extinct. Invest 350 million yuan to relocate and renovate the remaining 1,707 shantytown houses in the district, invest 170 million yuan to comprehensively transform and upgrade all old communities in the district, and invest 220 million yuan to implement the natural gas household project, and strive to make "worrying homes" into "livable".
Travel is getting smoother and smoother. Since 2012, Baiyun Obo Mining Area has vigorously built a "four horizontal and four vertical" road system, and since 2016, it has implemented the road smooth project, completed the transformation of important nodes and entrances and exits in the urban area, and built, renovated and expanded 13 roads such as Baiyun Obo Street and Tongyang South Road, with a new road area of 256,000 square meters, a total area of 500,000 square meters of urban roads, and a per capita road area of 21.8 square meters. In 2017, 152 million yuan was invested in the comprehensive renovation of the main and secondary roads and both sides of the district, 140 million yuan was invested to complete the reconstruction of main roads such as Mine Road and Tongyang Road, and 120 million yuan was invested in the construction of landscape demonstration streets, realizing the construction of "six horizontal and six vertical" road system and opening up the urban framework through road construction.
The service is getting more and more attentive. Actively promote the transfer of "three supplies and one industry" with the dolomite iron mine, and take the lead in completing the signing of the framework agreement on the transfer work. The "Baoshan Talent" project was implemented, the Baiyun Obo Maker Space was built, and the "Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship" public service center was established. Vigorously promote the reform of the "one-door" and "one-network" government service model, establish a government service database, cancel 19 fees involving residents with household registration in Baiyun District, and become the first area in the autonomous region to have no administrative fees for residents. More and more heart-warming government services. As the first window to serve the masses, the government affairs hall has always adhered to the development concept of "people first, service first", starting from the dimensions of optimizing the "one network" acceptance mode, standardizing the elements and standards of matters, and improving the quality and efficiency of examination and approval services.
Culture is flourishing more and more. This is the birthplace of the historical story of "Working Together to Build Baotou Steel", the place where the "Prairie Morning Song" is sung, and the place where the deeds of the little sisters of the grassland heroes take place. With more than 60 years of development, this land has formed a unique temperament intertwined with cultural elements such as grasslands, borders, mines, strange stones, and red. Baiyun Obo Mining Area is making full use of the region's unique profound cultural foundation and resource and environmental advantages, improving the experience and supporting service functions of the grassland heroes and little sisters deeds exhibition hall, developing and promoting characteristic cultural and creative products, and striving to create a national 4A-level tourist attraction. Further sort out and integrate existing resources, tell the red story and the rare earth story. Relying on public cultural service facilities such as district cultural centers (stations) and libraries, we will build a cultural supermarket that brings together all kinds of public cultural service products. A simple small stage will be built in the square park to further promote the development of the mass literary and artistic team.
Education is becoming more and more balanced. Make good use of the profound red resources in our district, build an integrated system of ideological and political education, and realize the organic connection between the ideological and political classroom and the social classroom. We should focus on improving the quality of teaching, focus on strengthening curriculum construction, classroom reform, and subject research, and take multiple measures to improve the professional quality of teachers. We will grasp the reform of educational elements, continue to promote the integration of childcare and small-class education and teaching reform, make every effort to do a good job in the reform of educational evaluation and the pilot work of the "Reading Ability Improvement Project", and complete the acceptance of the national preschool education popularization and inclusiveness and the creation of high-quality and balanced compulsory education with high standards. We should pay attention to the development of practical education, strive to build the "five bases", and realize the characteristics of comprehensive practical education in the "five-in-one" region.
Medical care is becoming more and more specialized. Adhere to the concept of great health and great health, highlight source management and prevention, shift the focus of work to health protection and prevention of severe disease, ensure that the distribution of "health kits" to key groups of people is fully covered, and solidly carry out the health white cloud action. We will continue to deepen the reform of public hospitals and deepen the construction of a medical community. Implement the project of upgrading medical and health facilities, focus on promoting the construction of emergency medical treatment centers (critically ill pregnant women), and improve the level of pre-hospital first aid and medical treatment. Strengthen the construction of the health talent team, speed up the completion of gynecology and children's medicine, emergency and other service shortcomings, and improve the comprehensive service capacity of hospitals.
The wind is hanging, and it is more timely. Today, the development orientation of Baiyun Obo Mining Area is "three places and one point", that is, to build a world-class new rare earth raw material base, a national strategic mineral resources comprehensive utilization base, an autonomous region sightseeing destination, and an important fulcrum for Baotou City's opening to the outside world. The focus of future work is to build a circular economy park for comprehensive utilization of resources, a demonstration park for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in the enclave economy, a smart and pleasant boutique urban area, a scientific and technological innovation cluster, a carbon peak and carbon neutrality pilot area, and a model area for national unity and progress. To this end, the 30,000 sons and daughters of Baiyun Obo are working together with high morale to build a prosperous and thriving socialist modern new Baiyun.
Baiyun Obo in the endeavor
Contributed by: Baiyun Obo Mining Area Archives and History Museum
