A tunnel kiln robot project at the second workshop of the China Northern Rare Earth (Group) Smelting Branch (Huamei Company) has recently started trial operations, greatly reducing pressure on staff members and improving working conditions.

The company is a branch of China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co, a business with expertise in the rare earth sector. The company is based in Baotou, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

With four robots adopting artificial intelligence technology, the project has shortened the ignition time of the tunnel kiln to five minutes from the original 30, and the carbonate loading time to 22-24 minutes from the original 28 per vehicle.

As the largest light rare earth separation company in China, Northern Rare Earth Group has been continuously improving its intelligent operations in recent years.

The group has gradually upgraded its upstream production lines from the initial manual operation to an advanced intelligent production mode.

Thanks to new technologies and new equipment, the group has successfully reduced costs and improved the quality of its products.

This year, it is expected to invest 135 million yuan ($21.11 million) to build more than 20 informatization and intelligent projects, and will continue to improve the digitization level of core equipment and key processes, to advance the construction of smart factories and seek higher-quality development.