Statistics from the Ministry of Land and Resources reveal that potential mineral resources in China's northwest will come to a total worth of over 33 trillion yuan, thereby showing the country's great prospect of development in the region.

The main mineral resources discovered in China's northwest are coal, oil gas, nickel, copper, lead, zinc, gold, leopoldite. Among these are included 300.9 billion tons of coal or 30% of national reserve, distributed mainly in Shaanxi, Xinjiang and Ningxia. Petroleum comes to 0.51 billion tons to take 23% of China's onshore oil, distributed chiefly in Erdos Basin, Jungar Basin, Tarim Basin, Qaidam Basin, Turpan and Hami Basin. Natural gas totals 435.4 billion cubic meters, over 58% of the country's onshore reserves, distributed mainly in Erdos Basin and Tarim Basin. Nickel and platinum are mainly in Gansu to take 62% and 57% of the national respectively. Qinghai has a leopoldite reserve of as much high as 97% of the deposit known in China.