BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China:

RADIOACTIVE WASTE

China is building a deep underground laboratory in a hard and integrity granite in northwestern China’s Gobi Desert to facilitate experiments for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW).

The Beishan Underground Research Laboratory, with a total investment of over 2.7 billion yuan (about 379 million U.S. dollars) and a depth of 560 meters, is being constructed in the northwestern part of China’s Gansu Province, according to the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA).

LITHIUM ORES

China has discovered nearly one million tonnes of lithium ores in Yajiang, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, and this is now proven to be Asia’s largest source of pegmatite-type monomeric lithium ores, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources on Wednesday.

Lithium is a soft and silver-white alkali metal with the atomic number 3. It is known for its unique properties, such as being the lightest metal, having the highest electrochemical potential, and being highly reactive with water.

REUSABLE ROCKET

The vertical return technology of China’s reusable rocket Zhuque-3 successfully completed its first flight test at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, laying the foundation for the maiden flight of the country’s first stainless steel liquid carrier rocket.

The flight test verified the vertical recovery of a rocket at low altitude and low speed, matching between the control system and engine thrust adjustment performance, and the rocket vertical recovery’s guidance and control algorithm, according to the rocket’s developer LandSpace, a Chinese private rocket company.