Baogang Tailings Dam, also known as the Baotou Tailings Dam or Weikuang Dam, is a

tailings dam A tailings dam is typically an earth-fill embankment dam used to store byproducts of mining operations after separating the ore from the gangue. Tailings can be liquid, solid, or a slurry of fine particles, and are usually highly toxic and potent ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, on the outer ring of the city of

Baotou Baotou (; mn, Buɣutu qota, Бугат хот) is the largest city by urban population in Inner Mongolia, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, as of the 2020 census, its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of its 5 urban districts is h ...

, about 20 kilometres from the city centre. The dam is filled with

tailings In mining, tailings are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different to overburden, which is the waste rock or other material that overlie ...

and waste slurry from nearby

rare earth mineral A rare-earth mineral contains one or more rare-earth elements as major metal constituents. Rare-earth minerals are usually found in association with alkaline to peralkaline igneous complexes, in pegmatites associated with alkaline magmas and in o ...

refinery plants. Accounts of the tailings dam appeared in western media outlets after a visit in 2015 by British writers Tim Maughan, Liam Young and Kate Davies from ''Unknown Fields'', a "nomadic design studio" from London. Footage posted on YouTube by Maughan appears to show him collecting samples from the floor of the dam. Maughan's account contrasts with the Chinese media's own reporting of the rare earth industry in the area. In 2016, Chinese authorities identified contamination of farmlands surrounding the dam. Construction of the dam began in 1955 and it was complete in 1963 but was not used until 1965. It is owned by

Baotou Steel Baotou Iron and Steel Group, Baotou Steel or Baogang Group is an iron and steel state-owned enterprise in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China. It was reorganized in 1998 from Baotou Iron and Steel Company established in 1954. It is the largest steel ...

. The circular dam is long and has a capacity. The dam will eventually increase in height and have a capacity of .

Bayan Obo Mining District Bayan'obo Mining District, ( Mongolian: ''Bayan Oboɣ-a Aɣurqai-yin toɣoriɣ'', Баян-Овоо Уурхайн тойрог ( mn, italic=yes, "rich" + ovoo); ), or Baiyun-Obo or Baiyun'ebo, is a mining town in the west of Inner Mongolia, ...

, about 120 kilometres from Baotou city is the world's biggest supplier of rare earth minerals. They are used in the production of smartphones, tablets and other technology, like wind turbines. Production creates millions of tons of waste per year which has drawn much criticism of the dam. Chemicals in the dam have been linked to lower crop yields in surrounding farmlands and serious health problems among local villagers.

References

Environmental disasters in China Inner Mongolia Dams in China Tailings dams Dams completed in 1965 {{China-struct-stub