On July 10th, a reporter from Red Star News learned from the Office of the New Round of Strategic Action for Mineral Exploration Breakthroughs of the Ministry of Natural Resources that in the first half of this year, 38 new mineral occurrences were discovered nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 31%, among which 25 are large or medium-sized.
▲ On April 22, 2025, the "Mining for the Country is a Great Glory - Achievements Exhibition of Mineral Exploration in the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of New China" at the China Geology Museum.
The Ministry of Natural Resources stated that major breakthroughs have been made in the exploration of important mineral varieties. The first extra-large uranium mine in Heilongjiang Province was discovered; in Xinglong County, Hebei Province, the added rubidium resource amount reached 3.37 million tons, attaining an extra-large scale, further consolidating China's dominant position in rubidium mines; in Longhua County, Hebei Province, the added cobalt resource amount was 27,000 tons, reaching a large scale; in Songtao County, Guizhou Province, the added manganese resource amount was 22.85 million tons, achieving a large scale; in Tekes County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the added gold resource amount was 81 tons, with a cumulative proven amount of nearly 100 tons, reaching an ultra-large scale. Up to now, most mineral varieties have completed the "14th Five-Year Plan" mineral exploration target tasks in advance.
Preliminary statistics show that in the first half of 2025, the investment in non-oil and gas mineral exploration nationwide was 6.993 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.9%, maintaining a rapid growth momentum with the year-on-year growth rate continuing to expand. Among them, social funds reached 3.359 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.2%, accounting for 48% of the total investment in mineral exploration, indicating that enterprises' enthusiasm for investing in mineral exploration is constantly increasing; central and local fiscal funds were 3.634 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.1%. In terms of mineral varieties, the exploration investment in tin ore, bauxite, tungsten ore, copper ore, phosphate ore and other minerals increased by more than 50% year-on-year, and the exploration investment in coal, lead-zinc ore, molybdenum ore, gold ore, graphite and other minerals also increased to varying degrees.
In addition, natural resources departments have increased the supply of exploration rights. In 2024, 581 exploration rights for strategic minerals were allocated, hitting a new high in the past decade. In the first half of 2025, 318 exploration rights for strategic minerals were allocated.