A 5N high-purity alumina workshop located in Baotou Rare Earth High-Tech Industrial Development Zone [Photo/Baotou Daily] 

Baotou Rare Earth High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in Baotou, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has confirmed a total of 80 major projects in 2020 that are each worth 100 million yuan ($14.62 million) or more, according to Baotou Daily.

The zone is expected to complete at least 40 projects with an investment of 12.3 billion yuan within this year.

It had planned to implement 48 key industrial projects with an investment of more than 100 million yuan each. As of the end of July, all 48 projects have resumed construction, with an investment of 3.75 billion yuan completed. 

A production line developed by Tianhe Magnets [Photo/Baotou Daily]

A total of 49 projects were signed between January and August, with a total investment of approximately 17.25 billion yuan. The projects involved rare earth applications, non-ferrous metals, equipment manufacturing, big data, urban complexes, cultural tourism and other industries.

Of these projects, 26 are in the rare earth industry with a total investment of 8.11 billion yuan, focusing on developing high-end rare earth materials and the construction of a national rare earth functional material innovation center.

Six projects are in the aluminum and copper industry, with a total investment of 12.68 billion yuan, and 12 projects are in the equipment manufacturing industry, with a total investment of 1.92 billion yuan.

The emerging industries projects mainly focus on high-end industries such as new materials and new energy. The zone hopes to promote the construction of a 14-billion-yuan clean energy base to develop large-scale wind power, photovoltaic power, hydrogen power and clean energy heating projects. 

The Baotou Rare Earth High-Tech Industrial Development Zone [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]