The Chinese domestic mining industry is set to get a major financial shot in the arm as it gets ready to spend 30 billion yuan or almost 4.5 billion dollars on domestic exploration activities over the next five years. The hunt for domestic mineral deposits is part of an effort by China to reduce its reliance on imported material.
Vice Minister of Land and Resources, Wang Min said that the government would launch the exploration in 21 provinces of China. 900 separate mineral deposit locations have been identified by Chinese scientists in the last 12 years.
Wang Min said that five out of these may hold 5 billion tonnes of iron ore and about 38.5 million tonnes of copper ore reserves. The deposits are located in the provinces of Liaoning, Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Shanxi. He said that based on these discoveries, China had great potential for mineral exploration.
Director of the China Geological Survey or CGS, Chen Renyi said that imports of copper ore, iron ore and sylvite should account for less than 75 percent, 50 percent and 60 percent of the minerals' consumption in China, respectively, over the next five years.