John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He has covered foreign policy and defense matters, especially in relation to U.S.-China ties and cross-strait relations between China and Taiwan. John joined Newsweek in 2020 after reporting in Central Europe and the United Kingdom. He is a graduate of National Chengchi University in Taipei and SOAS, University of London. Languages: English and Chinese. You can get in touch with John by emailing j.feng@newsweek.com
Chinese media has reported that the country's geologists had uncovered vast deposits of thorium in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, which supposedly indicates the presence of enough of the radioactive metal to meet the nation's energy demands for 60,000 years.
Thorium has emerged as a potentially crucial resource in the global quest for alternative fuels.
The slightly radioactive element is extremely abundant -- three to four times more common in nature than uranium, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -- and could offer a promising alternative to conventional nuclear power generation. Thorium-based reactors are thought to be safer and more efficient than uranium reactors, while also producing less nuclear waste.
Although there have been efforts to harness this resource in the U.S., only a few countries have made significant strides in using the element to meet their national energy needs. However, if more commit to researching and developing ways to capitalize on its abundance, thorium could also offer a substantial economic boost to those that possess it.
As shown in the map below, created using the most recent comprehensive data on thorium reserves from the IAEA, the element can be found in large quantities across the globe.
While China has claimed that the recently discovered deposits could yield 1 million tons of thorium if fully exploited, the country's confirmed reserves stand at around 100,000 tons, according to the IAEA.
India, one of the handful of countries actively working to incorporate thorium into its nuclear power program, holds the largest reserves, with nearly 850,000 tons.
Australia, Brazil and the U.S. also boast large reserves of thorium, each possessing more than 500,000 tons.
"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," an anonymous Beijing-based geologist told the South China Morning Post.
Kailash Agarwal, nuclear fuel cycle facilities specialist at the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in 2023."Many countries consider thorium as both a viable and very attractive option for generating power and meeting their growing energy needs."
"Because of its abundance and its fissile material breeding capability, thorium could potentially offer a long-term solution to humanity's energy needs," Agarwal added.
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, who introduced the Thorium Energy Security Act of 2022, previously told Newsweek that employing the country's thorium reserves would be a good way to phase out America's reliance on foreign-sourced uranium.
"We want to be greener, but we want to be efficient," Tuberville said. "We want to keep energy costs down, and this could be a huge advantage for everybody across the globe to be able to do this now."
While thorium holds promise as a potential cleaner, safer, and more sustainable form of nuclear energy, research and development into thorium reactors is still largely in the experimental phase.