A large deposit with estimated reserves of 100 million tonnes of molybdenum ores has been found in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The rare-metal deposit is located in Wengniute Banner, under the city of Chifeng. According to the banner's bureau of natural resources, its molybdenum reserves also contain many other metal minerals, including silver, gold, zinc, lead and copper.

Molybdenum can be added to enhance the hardness and toughness of alloy steel, and molybdenum compounds are widely used in the production of chemical reagents, medicine, fuel and lubricants.

Chifeng is dubbed China's city of nonferrous metals for its huge reserves of lead, zinc, tin, gold, silver and other metals.