The "Rare Earth Cultural and Creative Products Development Project" was recently selected for inclusion in the list of key cultural industry projects in Inner Mongolia autonomous region for the year 2024.

It is reported that the "Rare Earth Cultural and Creative Products Development Project" is primarily focused on based on a series of cultural and creative products developed by Baotou Zhongke Ceramic Technology Co. They involve antibacterial and antiviral rare earth glaze ceramics.

Rare earth glaze ceramics possess advantages such as easy cleaning, no lead and cadmium residue, as well as antibacterial and antiviral properties. Currently, the company has applied for multiple national patents and has been selected to join the National Cultural Science and Technology Innovation Project.

"Currently, China's rare earth industry still shows a situation where front-end mining and smelting are being developed, while back-end application technologies are weak," said Zhou Xiao, chairman of Baotou Zhongke Ceramic Technology Co. "Downstream rare earth functional material development mainly focuses on heavy rare earth, and the low utilization rate of light rare earth and the urgent need for development in the consumer market are challenges that are restricting the development of the rare earth industry," Zhou added.

Zhongke Ceramic was founded by a research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. By doping rare earth and zinc elements through special processes, the company began developing rare earth ceramics and rare earth antibacterial materials in 2018. This further transforms rare earth elements into consumer goods such as medical supplies, ceramics, and daily necessities, thus establishing a new industrial form.