Addis Ababa, July 19, 2025 (FMC) – A team of Chinese experts has discovered the world’s deepest sandstone-type industrial uranium deposit at a depth of 1,820 metres in the Tarim Basin, located in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The discovery marks the first major thick uranium mineralisation found in the red variegated strata of the Tarim Basin’s remote desert hinterland, a region previously considered unsuitable for exploration, according to the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), TV BRICS reported, citing its partner Global Times.
Chief scientist Qin Mingkuan revealed that the team overcame severe terrain challenges and equipment limitations by shifting traditional approaches and embracing innovative methodologies. Their efforts filled a major prospecting gap in one of China’s most arid regions.
Notably, the team introduced a pioneering exfiltration–infiltration composite genetic regional prediction model, which, combined with 3D detection methods using satellite, aerial, and ground technologies, laid the groundwork for a green and efficient uranium prospecting system in desert regions.
While the find is a significant scientific milestone, Qin cautioned that further detailed exploration is required before any extraction can begin.