China is killing the race for critical minerals with the largest antenna on Earth

Hidden within the granite wilderness of central China lies an antenna so vast it dwarfs New York City five times over – a 500-kilowatt electromagnetic leviathan originally built to whisper to submarines.

Now, it is broadcasting China’s dominance in the global scramble for critical minerals.

As nations race to secure lithium, cobalt and rare earths for green tech supremacy, Chinese geologists are deploying this monster – and its cousins – to detect ore and energy resources buried kilometres deep.

The wireless electromagnetic method (WEM) project is leading the way in the global search for rare earths for green tech supremacy. Image: Handout

Their world-leading electromagnetic arsenal, systematically revealed for the first time in a China Geological Survey (CGS) study published in the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical & Geochemical Exploration in August, leaves competitors in the dust.

South China Morning Post