Hydromagnesite (Mg5(CO3)4(OH)2·4H2O) is a naturally occurring carbonate mineral that is widely distributed worldwide. However, large sedimentary hydromagnesite deposits with industrial mining value are very rare worldwide. Although hydromagnesite was discovered a long time ago, there has been no official report on this in my country.
In the late 1950s, this mineral was first discovered in China in areas such as Bange Lake in northern Tibet. Studies have shown that the hydromagnesite in this area is of lacustrine chemical deposition origin. At the same time, due to its wide distribution, large reserves, and often directly exposed on the surface, it is suitable for direct open-pit mining. However, there are not many theoretical and applied studies on this unique mineral resource with rich reserves in my country. In terms of mineralogical research, except for some research on its mineral external morphology, chemical composition, properties, crystal development characteristics and other mineralogical characteristics in the late 1980s, there is no public report on other scholars’ related mineralogical research on the mine in China.
In the Bange Lake area of Nagqu, Tibet Autonomous Region, the proven reserves of hydromagnesite are nearly 50 million tons, and the prospective reserves exceed 100 million tons, which has obvious resource advantages. Hebei Messi Biology Co., Ltd. actively carries out the mining of hydromagnesite to expand the added value and application areas of products. In 2021, the annual output of hydromagnesite raw ore of Meixi Biological will be 100,000 tons. In the next three years, it will maintain an exponential growth rate and is expected to exceed 1 million tons of hydromagnesite raw ore by 2024. In the next three years, Meixi Biological will rely on the resource advantages of Nagqu hydromagnesite deposits to focus on the research and development of pharmaceutical food, composite materials, aerospace, 5G new materials, composite materials, hydrotalcite, flame retardants and other fields. The industry demand is strong and the prospects are broad.