Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, April 12, 2002
China's Minerals Rises to 156 Categories
Some 106 new large and medium-sized mining areas were discovered in China by the end of 2001, increasing proven domestic mineral deposits to 156 varieties.
Some 106 new large and medium-sized mining areas were discovered in China by the end of 2001, increasing proven domestic mineral deposits to 156 varieties.
According to the 2001 Communique for China's Land and Resources promulgated by the Ministry of Land and Resources, among the 156 mineral resources that can be exploited in China, there are nine energy resources, 54 metals, 90 non-metals and three other liquids or gases.
Last year, China newly verified 1.64 billion tons of coal, 727 million tons of oil and 430 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Other mineral resources with comparatively large reserves include iron, copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, gold and sulfur.
In recent years, the Chinese government has intensified prospecting for minerals with the total investment in geological explorations hitting to 22.7 billion yuan (about 2.7 billion U.S. dollars) by 2001.
In addition, China also made an attempt to transfer the right of mineral prospecting and exploitation, making a total profit of 1.8 billion yuan (about 216 million U.S. dollars) last year.
Statistics show that the gross output value of China's mining industry reached 479 billion yuan (about 58 billion U.S. dollars) in 2001 with the yields of major mineral products, such as raw coal and crude oil, increasing remarkably.