中国研究人员制造了一种自行移动的履带式机器人，能够从沙中提取铁，并在中国西北部新疆维吾尔自治区的塔克拉玛干沙漠——面积相当于德国——的沙丘上对该装置进行了测试。
Chinese researchers have built a self-propelled crawler robot that harvests iron from sand and tested the device in the dunes of the vast Taklamakan Desert – an area the size of Germany – in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
在弗兰克·赫伯特的经典科幻小说《沙丘》中，移动工厂穿越虚构星球阿拉基斯的沙漠，以提取药物“香料”（也称为“香料”）。该真实世界的装置同样穿越沙漠，提取有价值的资源。
In Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel , mobile factories traverse the sands of the fictional planet Arrakis to extract the drug melange, also known as “spice”. The real-world device similarly travels across the desert, extracting valuable resources.
由新疆维吾尔自治区塔里木大学的研究人员开发的基于稀土磁铁的分离器，利用干式磁选法从沙子中过滤出铁磁性材料。
The rare earth-magnet-based separator, developed by researchers from Tarim University in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, filters ferromagnetic materials from sand using dry magnetic separation.
根据该团队在中文期刊《金属矿》上发表的研究，塔克拉玛干沙漠含有“大量铁磁性材料”，此前研究估计其沙子中铁含量约为6%。
According to the team’s study published in the Chinese-language journal Metal Mine, the Taklamakan Desert contains “vast quantities of ferromagnetic materials”, with previous research estimating iron content in its sands of about 6 per cent.
然而，该团队在10月8日发表的论文中表示：“然而，这些材料的分散分布和收集困难阻碍了这些资源的有效回收和利用。”
“However, their scattered distribution and the difficulty of collection have hindered the effective recovery and utilisation of these resources,” the team said in the paper published on October 8.
论文指出，在塔克拉玛干沙漠——世界第二大流动沙漠、中国最大沙漠——的测试中，该原型机从原始沙子中平均提取了0.46%的磁性材料。
Testing in Taklamakan – the world’s second-largest shifting sand desert and the largest desert in China – showed the prototype extracted an average yield of 0.46 per cent magnetic material from the raw sands, the paper said.
所收获磁性材料的平均总铁含量约为28%，表明该装置“能够从沙漠沙中回收并初步浓缩含铁磁性材料”。
The average total iron content of the harvested magnetic material was about 28 per cent, indicating the device “is capable of recovering and preliminarily concentrating iron-bearing magnetic materials from desert sand”.
研究人员表示，该装置为从沙漠中提取矿物提供了一种低功耗解决方案，原型机的运行功耗相当于一部大容量手机充电宝。
The device offers a low-power solution to extracting minerals from the desert, with the prototype operating on the equivalent of a large phone power bank, according to the researchers.
依靠容量为20,000毫安时的电池，这台重4.3公斤（9磅）的爬行器以每秒1.5厘米的平均速度连续运行了12.5小时，在通过20度坡道时保持了稳定性。
Relying on a battery with a capacity of 20,000 milliampere-hours, the 4.3kg (9lb) crawler operated continuously for 12.5 hours at an average speed of 1.5cm per second, maintaining stability while navigating 20-degree slopes.
他们表示，该设备还配备了一个可进一步延长其作业范围的太阳能电池板。
The device also has a mounted solar panel that could further extend its operational range, they said.
铁是世界上最丰富、使用最广泛的资源之一。根据美国地质调查局（USGS）的数据，中国在全球原铁矿储量中排名第四，储量为170亿吨，仅次于澳大利亚的590亿吨、俄罗斯的350亿吨和巴西的340亿吨。
Iron is one of the world’s most abundant and widely used resources. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), China ranks fourth globally in crude iron ore reserves at 17 billion tonnes, after Australia with 59 billion tonnes, Russia with 35 billion tonnes and Brazil with 34 billion tonnes.
今年的USGS《矿产品品概览》报告也将中国列为2025年可用矿石产量全球第四位——仅次于澳大利亚、巴西和印度。
This year’s USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries report also ranked China at No 4 – after Australia, Brazil and India – in usable ore production in 2025.
尽管中国拥有显著的铁矿储量，但进口仍占该国铁矿资源消费的大部分。
Despite China’s significant iron ore reserves, imports still account for most of the country’s consumption of the resource.
据该中国报告称，该国的铁矿资源特点是成分复杂、品位低，导致回收率低、利用效率不高。
According to the Chinese paper, the country’s iron ore resources are characterised by complex compositions and low grades, which lead to low recovery rates and less efficient utilisation.
该团队表示，初步调查表明塔克拉玛干沙漠的沙子中存在含铁磁性成分，此前研究显示该沙漠的铁含量约为6%。
The team said preliminary surveys had indicated the existence of iron-bearing magnetic components in the sands of the Taklamakan Desert, with previous research indicating the iron content in the desert was around 6 per cent.
塔克拉玛干沙漠面积达337,600平方公里（130,350平方英里），面积大约相当于德国。
The Taklamakan Desert covers 337,600 sq km (130,350 square miles), about the size of Germany.
提取这些分散矿物的一种方法是磁选，即根据材料磁性特性的差异进行分选。
One way to extract those scattered minerals is through magnetic separation, which sorts materials based on differences in their magnetic properties.
该团队表示，传统的手动分离技术——如磁吸、目视分选和重力洗选——“不适应沙漠环境的极端条件”。
The team said that traditional manual separation techniques like magnetic attraction, visual sorting and gravity washing were “ill-suited to the extreme conditions of the desert environment”.
为了应对这些挑战，他们设计了一种干式磁选机，该装置依赖于一圈钕铁硼（NdFeB）永磁体来穿过沙子并吸出磁性颗粒。
To take on these challenges, they designed a dry magnetic separator that relies on a ring of neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets to sort through the sand and pull out magnetic particles.
中国主导钕铁硼永磁体的生产，这是目前商业上可获得的最强稀土磁体，在电动汽车和航空航天部件的生产中发挥着关键作用。
China dominates production of NdFeB permanent magnets, the strongest commercially available rare earth magnets which play a critical role in the production of electric vehicles and aerospace components.
2023年底，中国禁止出口稀土加工技术，包括制造钕铁硼永磁体所需的技术。中国还对某些类型的钕铁硼永磁体实施了严格的出口管制。
At the end of 2023, China banned the export of rare earth processing technologies, including those needed for making neodymium iron boron permanent magnets. China has also imposed strict export controls on certain types of NdFeB magnets.
根据论文所述，该装置依靠履带底盘在沙地上移动，使用旋转进料机制，通过斗子吸取沙子并将其倒入通向磁选机的进料口。
Relying on a tracked chassis to move across the sand, the device uses a rotating feeding mechanism that scoops up sand in buckets and dumps it into a feed inlet leading to the magnetic separator, according to the paper.
内部，钕铁硼永磁体阵列将磁性材料吸引到中央滚筒的表面。随着滚筒旋转，铁和其他材料会移动到无磁区，然后落入排料 chute。与此同时，任何非磁性材料会从单独的沙子排放口落出。
Inside, the NdFeB permanent magnet array attracts magnetic materials to the surface of a central drum. As the drum rotates, iron and other materials move into a magnet-free zone before dropping into a discharge chute. Meanwhile, any non-magnetic materials fall out of a separate sand discharge outlet.
2025年6月，该团队对该装置的原型进行了性能测试，评估其爬坡能力和能耗，发现每消耗3%的电量，该装置可行驶18.2米（60英尺）。
In June 2025, the team carried out a prototype performance test of the device, evaluating its climbing ability and energy consumption, and found it could cover a distance of 18.2 metres (60 feet) for every 3 per cent of battery consumed.
对分离出的磁性材料的研究显示，两个代表性样品的总铁含量分别约为24%和32%。
A study of the separated magnetic material showed total iron content of around 24 per cent and 32 per cent in two representative samples.
研究人员表示，富集样品的铁含量“显著高于”普通硅砂样品，并伴有钛和锰等元素。
The researchers said the iron content of the enriched samples was “significantly higher” than ordinary silica sand samples and was accompanied by elements like titanium and manganese.
“总体而言，本研究设计的磁选机能够对沙漠沙中的含铁磁性材料进行初步回收和富集，”团队表示。
“Overall, the magnetic separator designed in this study is capable of the preliminary recovery and enrichment of iron-bearing magnetic materials from desert sand,” the team said.
他们指出，测试之间仍存在一些波动，这可能是由于沙子中铁磁性成分分布不均以及地形变化所致。
They noted that some fluctuations still occurred between tests, which could be due to the uneven distribution of ferromagnetic components in the sand as well as varying terrain.
然而，“总体趋势保持一致，表明原型的分离过程具有基本稳定性”，他们表示。
However, “overall trends remained consistent, indicating fundamental stability in the prototype’s separation process”, they said.