CCTV 13 recently reported a groundbreaking discovery by a Chinese scientific research team: the world’s deepest sandstone-type industrial uranium mineralization, found 1,820 meters beneath the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang. CDUT alumnus Qin Mingkuan, who graduated in 1987 with a degree in Uranium Geology Exploration, now Chief Scientist of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and project leader for the Tarim Basin initiative, was interviewed by CCTV about this major scientific achievement.
In the interview, Qin explained that the team carried out metallogenic prospect predictions at multiple scales across the Tarim Basin. Guided by these predictions, they conducted remote sensing, geophysical, and geochemical surveys in priority zones. Subsequent deep drilling verification led to the discovery of thick, large-scale uranium mineralization deep in the desert interior of the basin.
Industrial uranium mineralization is regarded as a direct and reliable indicator of industrial uranium deposits. This marks the first time such large sandstone-type mineralization has been identified within the red mottled strata of a previously unexplored desert zone in the Tarim Basin. The discovery signifies a major theoretical breakthrough for uranium exploration, overturning the long-standing assumption that sandstone-type uranium mineralization could not occur in such settings. Built on an integrated “sky-air-ground-depth” three-dimensional detection approach, the team established an innovative and environmentally friendly exploration technology system tailored for desert-covered regions. This achievement represents breakthroughs in four dimensions, new exploration areas, new stratigraphic horizons, new mineralization types, and new depths, resetting the world record for the deepest sandstone-type industrial uranium mineralization discovery. The results provide vital new theoretical support and prospecting strategies for global uranium resource exploration and development.
About the Alumnus
Dr. Qin Mingkuan, a native of Tongjiang, Sichuan, is a Senior Engineer (Level 2) at the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology and a doctoral supervisor.
He graduated in 1991 from Chengdu Institute of Geology (now CDUT) with a bachelor’s degree in Uranium Geology Exploration. Over his career, he has focused on uranium metallogenic theory, prediction and evaluation methods, and their application. He has led or participated in more than 20 major national and provincial research projects.
Dr. Qin’s contributions have earned him numerous honors: a First-Class State Scientific and Technological Progress Award, a Second-Class Award, seven First-Class Awards for Technological Inventions of National Defense, four Second-Class Awards, and six “Top Ten Geological Science and Technology Progress” Awards from the Geological Society of China. He has published 199 academic papers and monographs.
In 2013, he was granted a special government allowance by the State Council. In 2017, he was selected for the National “Hundred and Thousand and Ten-Thousand Talent Project” and recognized as a “National Outstanding Mid-aged and Young Expert.” He currently serves as Chief Scientist of CNNC, Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Uranium Resources Exploration and Nuclear Remote Sensing, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Nuclear Geoscience Committee of the Geological Society of China, and Visiting Professor at CDUT.
