The Bayan Obo Mine in Baotou, Inner Mongolia [Photo/Baotou news network]

The recently-launched Shenzhou XII, part of the Shenzhou series of spacecrafts, contains many components made of rare earth from Baotou's Bayan Obo mining district.

The Bayan Obo Mine, located in Baotou, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has the largest variety of minerals of any mine in the world. It is also the largest rare earth mine in the world, and the largest iron mine in Northwest China.

It contains 175 kinds of mineral resources such as rare earth minerals and iron, niobium, manganese, phosphorus, and fluorite, which account for more than 41 percent of the world's total proven reserves.

Rare earth permanent magnet materials are permanent magnet materials based on intermetallic compounds composed of rare earth metal atoms and transition metal atoms. Compared with ferrite materials, they not only have excellent performance, but are also compact and lightweight, making them highly suitable for use in aerospace equipment.

In the rocket navigation system's gyroscope, a permanent magnet radiation ring is used to control the speed of the motor and adjust the direction of the rocket to help it accurately enter a predetermined orbit.

Some satellite payloads will also use rare earth giant magnetostrictive materials to make actuators or micromotors with high response speed and high control accuracy. These are mainly used in optical observation equipment on satellites.