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Source: China News Network

On the 25th, the Ministry of Natural Resources held a press conference on the achievements of the mineral exploration breakthrough strategic action over the past decade. Yu Haifeng, director of the Geological Exploration Management Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources, pointed out that since the implementation of the mineral exploration breakthrough strategic action, the resource reserves of major minerals have generally increased despite the continuous increase in mining consumption. Among them, the cumulative new resource amount of deep exploration in the Jiaodong gold mine has exceeded 4,600 tons, making it the third largest gold mining area in the world.

Yu Haifeng stated that in the past decade, in terms of oil and gas minerals, the newly added resource amounts for oil and natural gas were 10.1 billion tons and 6.85 trillion cubic meters, accounting for about 25% and 45% of the total identified since the founding of New China, respectively. Seventeen large oil fields with a billion-ton level, such as Mahu and Qingcheng, and twenty-one large gas fields with a hundred billion cubic meters level, such as Anyue and Sulige, were discovered. Significant progress has been made in shale gas exploration and development, with the annual output of the southern Sichuan gas field reaching 11.7 billion cubic meters and the Fuling gas field reaching 6.7 billion cubic meters; a coalbed methane field with a hundred billion cubic meters level was discovered in Qingshui.

In terms of non-oil and gas minerals, the newly added resource amount of crystalline graphite over the past decade was 336 million tons, accounting for about 65% of the total identified since the founding of New China. The amounts for manganese, molybdenum, tungsten, and gold were 1.2 billion tons, 18.74 million tons, 6.12 million tons, and 80.85 tons, respectively, accounting for about 50% of the total. The amounts for lead-zinc, bauxite, and potassium salt were 137 million tons, 1.8 billion tons, and 523 million tons, respectively, accounting for about 35% of the total. The amounts for coal, copper, nickel, and fluorite were 5.268 billion tons, 37.11 million tons, 3.49 million tons, and 90.62 million tons, respectively, accounting for about 25% of the total. A total of 32 new mineral resource bases were formed.

Multiple sandstone-type uranium mines were newly discovered; the newly added manganese resource amount in Tongren, Guizhou, was 700 million tons; the newly added copper resource amount in Duolong, Tibet, was 18.37 million tons, making it the first copper mine in China with a ten-million-ton level; the newly added tungsten resource amounts in Zhuxi and Dahutang, Jiangxi, were 3.63 million tons and 840,000 tons, respectively, making them the top two large tungsten deposits in the world; three new crystalline graphite resource bases, two lithium resource bases, and one fluorite resource base were discovered; the newly added diatomite resource amount was 77.2 million tons.

Over the past decade, the focus of mineral resource exploration and development in China has shifted westward and expanded to maritime areas. Yu Haifeng pointed out that the newly confirmed geological reserves and production of oil in the west accounted for 62% and 34% of the national total, respectively, while natural gas accounted for 85% and 84%. Among them, the Ordos region has confirmed geological reserves of nearly 7 billion tons of oil and over 5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. One billion-ton level oil field and four hundred billion cubic meters level gas fields were discovered in maritime areas, with maritime oil and gas production accounting for about one-fourth of the national total in 2020.

Among the 32 newly formed non-oil and gas mineral resource bases nationwide, 25 are located in the west, accounting for 78% of the national total. The newly added resource amount of copper mines in the west accounted for 70% of the national total, and the newly added resource amount of lead-zinc mines in the west accounted for 83%. The breakthroughs in mineral exploration in the western region provide a resource foundation and industrial support for poverty alleviation and economic development in the western region.

During a media interview on the same day, Yu Haifeng stated that China is in the late stage of industrialization and urbanization, requiring a large amount of infrastructure construction. In the next 15 years, the demand for bulk mineral resources will remain high, and a series of domestic mineral exploration achievements will provide support and guarantee for this. In addition, the exploration achievements are mainly in the western region, which will provide stronger support for social development, poverty alleviation, and infrastructure construction in the western region.