China has discovered a massive 1-million-ton thorium deposit valued at $178 billion that could potentially power the nation for the next 60,000 years. Thorium is a radioactive metal found in the Earth’s crust that is three times as common as uranium. One ton of thorium can produce as much energy as 200 tons of uranium or 3.5 million tons of coal.
“For generations, nations have fought wars over oil and gas—yet we’ve had a clean energy solution beneath our feet all along,” one Chinese scientist commented. Thorium is praised as a less toxic alternative as the radioactive waste it produces loses its toxicity within a few hundred years, compared to uranium-235, which could take thousands of years to neutralize. Reactors powered by thorium do not produce greenhouse gases. Thorium could be converted to nuclear fuel that can power molten salt reactors, heavy water reactors, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and more.
India is currently at the forefront of thorium-based nuclear technology and has several multi-billion-dollar projects underway. Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) fueled by uranium generate plutonium. That plutonium is then used by Deploy Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) to create fissile material such as uranium-233. The final stage employs the Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) and other thorium-based fuels that are designed to operate on thorium-plutonium and thorium-uranium-233 mixed oxide fuels.
It is believed that India is currently in possession of 846,477 tons of thorium, with some agencies suggested the figure could be as high as 1 million. Before the discovery in China, India held about 30% of global thorium. The nation is on the path to achieve 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047. China is now on par with India in terms of thorium holdings.
China relied on Russia and Kazakhstan for uranium imports, purchasing around 16,390 tons or $2.32 billion in natural uranium in 2024. China’s strategy was to source one-third of its uranium domestically, but this discovery will change everything once mining is underway.
China has been phasing out coal and already has plans to be self-sufficient in energy by 2035. Thorium itself is not fissile and cannot be used in nuclear weapons directly, as many are wondering. Yet, uranium-233 certainly can be used in nuclear weapons. The US produced nearly 2 tons of uranium-233 during the Cold War and tested the theory.
India and China now have the ability to become the world’s leading nuclear-powered nations.
