A new mineral "Nioboixiolite-(□)", discovered and declared by Bayan Obo Scientific Research Base in Baotou, was approved by the International Mineralogical Association's Committee of New Mineral Nomenclature and Classification (IMA-CNMNC) with a high vote.

The new mineral's Chinese name is "Baige (白鸽)" in honor of Bai Ge (1930-2020), the researcher who first discovered niobium iron ore in the Bayan Obo Mining district and started the investigation for niobium resources.

Nioboixiolite-(□), a black opaque niobium-tantalum oxide, is the 16th new mineral discovered in the Bayan Obo deposit. At present, a sample is stored in the Geological Museum of China.

The Bayan Obo base was jointly established by Baogang Group and the Chinese Geological Survey's Institute of Mineral Resources. This is another important scientific research achievement for the base after its breakthrough in iron, rare earth and fluorite prospecting, which has further demonstrated the strength of its institution-enterprise cooperation model.

"The discovery of Nioboixiolite-(□) and the future in-depth study of it will provide a new direction for finding precious resources such as tantalum in Bayan Obo," states Zhao Yonggang, chief technical expert of Baogang Group and part of the discovery team.