Currently, most of the world's niobium needs come from Brazil and Canada. The proved reserves of niobium deposit in China are large and rank among the top in the world. There is no independent niobium mine in China, and 99% of the niobium resources needed by industry depend on import. At present, the niobium deposits discovered in China are mainly distributed in Inner Mongolia and hubei provinces, and the niobium resources in the three mining areas of bayan obo, balzhe and zhusanmiya in Inner Mongolia account for about 96% of the national niobium reserves. Due to the large niobium mineral dispersion, fine grain size and complex niobium mineral composition, these super-large deposits have not been well developed and utilized except for a small amount of recovery of niobium from the bayan obo deposit as an associated resource.

At present, the main niobium ore types used in China are pegmatite type and granite-type tantalum-niobium ore, which have low grade and small scale, and are associated resources of tantalum.