A top nuclear research institute has discovered the existence of natural metallic uranium in China, disproving a previous belief it could exist only as a compound naturally, thus requiring extraction treatment.

A team from Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology at China National Nuclear Corporation has found ores containing metallic uranium in northern Guangdong province, which could help provide a secure supply to China's ever-growing nuclear industry.

Li Ziying, its president and senior geologist, said the team used a ground-breaking technique called X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in its study.