A large rare earth mine has been discovered in Shiyan, Hubei Province, according to media reports Friday, citing the Hubei Provincial Land and Resources Department.

The country is now planning measures to prevent the resources at the foot of Laoyin Mountain in Longba town of Zhuxi County, in Shiyan from being illegally mined.

Geologists are investigating the make-up, structure, quality, and size of the deposits, and they said that in the area, the water, forest and other mining resources are also very rich, with reserves of coal, marble, phosphor and limestone.

Geologists have previously found rare earth deposits in 12 locations in Zhushan, another county in Shiyan. And Zhushan county also has the world's second-largest columbium mine.