China is a country with vast territory, superior ore-forming geological conditions, complete mineral resources and rich total resources in the world. It is a country with its own characteristics of mineral resources.

Overview of mineral resources in China

China is a country with vast territory, superior ore-forming geological conditions, complete mineral resources and rich total resources in the world. It is a country with its own characteristics of mineral resources.

1、 Geological background conditions of mineral mineralization

Mineral resources are the products of the long-term formation, development and evolution of the earth's crust. They are formed by natural minerals under certain geological conditions and through certain geological processes. Different geological processes can form different types of minerals. According to the different geological processes, energy and material sources, the geological processes forming mineral resources, i.e. mineralization, are generally divided into endogenous mineralization, exogenous mineralization, metamorphic mineralization and superimposed mineralization. Endogenic mineralization refers to various geological processes caused by the influence of heat energy in the earth. Exogenic mineralization refers to various geological processes in the formation of ore deposits on the surface of the earth's crust under the direct action of solar energy and in the interaction process of the upper lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere caused by the earth's external stress. Metamorphic mineralization refers to the change of geological environment, especially through deep burial or other thermal dynamic events, which changes the mineral assemblage, chemical composition, physical properties and structural structure of ore deposits or ore bearing rocks formed by endogenic and exogenic mineralization, resulting in the formation of another kind of geological process with different properties and quality. Superimposed mineralization is a kind of composite mineralization, which is a kind of geological process formed by the composite superposition of multiple mineralization. These four kinds of mineralization form four kinds of different deposits, namely endogenetic deposit, exogenetic deposit and superimposed deposit. The formation, quantity and quality of mineral resources in a region are directly related to the ore-forming geological conditions of the area.

In addition to geological conditions, the abundance of mineral resources in a country is directly related to the territory and space conditions for ore storage. Under the same favorable geological conditions, the more vast the territory is, the more abundant the mineral resources are.

China is located in the east of Asia, on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, with a vast territory, fertile fields, mountains and rivers, beautiful scenery, lakes and basins, and magnificent landforms. There are many mountains in the West and hills and plains in the East. The vast land and complex geological landforms provide a vast space for the storage of rich and colorful mineral resources. In addition, in the vast land of China, the strata of each epoch are well developed, and they are distributed from Archean to Cenozoic. In the more than 3 billion years from Archean to Cenozoic, China has experienced many periods of extensive and intense magmatic activities, forming various types of magmatic rocks, which are widely distributed all over the country. China is an important part of Eurasia, and it is also an important part of the whole world It is the product of global crustal movement and tectonic evolution. From the perspective of plate tectonics, China is located in the southeast of Eurasian plate, connected with Pacific plate and Philippine Plate in the East and Indian plate in the south. The Chinese mainland is located in the adjacent areas of these plates and is affected by several tectonic units, thus creating favorable geological conditions for the formation of diversified minerals. It is because of the above factors that China has become a big country of mineral resources.

2、 Brief introduction of main mineral resources in China

In the past 50 years since the founding of new China, large-scale mineral geological exploration has been carried out and great achievements have been made. 168 kinds of minerals have been discovered and 153 kinds of minerals have been proved. Among them, there are 8 kinds of energy minerals, 54 kinds of metal minerals, 88 kinds of non-metal minerals and 3 kinds of water and gas minerals. The potential value of proved reserves is second only to the United States and the former Soviet Union, ranking third in the world It is one of the few countries with the most abundant resources and complete mineral resources.

1. Energy mineral is an important part of China's mineral resources. Coal, oil and natural gas account for about 93% and 95% of the world's and China's primary energy consumption, respectively. As mineral energy plays a leading role in primary energy consumption, it is of great strategic significance to national economic and social development.

China has a wide range of energy and mineral resources. Known proven reserves of energy minerals are coal, oil, natural gas, oil shale, uranium, thorium, geothermal, etc.

China is rich in coal resources. According to the results of the prospective survey of coal resources conducted by geologists, within the range of the surface layer of the crust less than 2000 meters below the earth's surface, it is predicted that the total prospective amount of coal resources will reach 5059.2 billion tons. By the end of 1996, there were 5345 mining areas with proven reserves, with total reserves of 1002.5 billion tons. China has 229.9 billion tons of refined reserves in total reserves. Compared with the proven recoverable reserves in the world, China's coal reserves are behind the CIS and the United States, ranking third in the world.

Oil is the blood of industry, the basis of modern industrial civilization, and one of the important energy sources for human survival and development. The rapid development of the petroleum industry in the 20th century is closely linked with the development of national strategy, global politics and economy, resulting in great changes in the world economy, national relations and people's living standards. China is one of the countries rich in oil resources, with 18.14 billion tons of proven geological reserves in 32 oil fields. According to the report of oil & gas in 1997, the world's remaining proved recoverable oil reserves are 139 billion tons, while China's remaining proved recoverable oil reserves announced in 1997 are 2.241 billion tons, ranking 11th in the world. There are 319 basins in China, of which 145 basins are estimated to have 93 billion tons of resources. Among them, 24 basins have confirmed the existence of oil fields, with 75.89 billion tons of resources, accounting for 84.48% of the total resources. 42 basins have discovered oil and gas, with 7.566 billion tons of resources, accounting for 7.39% of the total resources.

Natural gas (including biogas) is one of the important energy mineral resources, and also a kind of clean energy with great development prospects at home and abroad. China's natural gas resources are quite extensive, with different degrees of production in oil and coal basins. There are abundant natural gas resources. Experts predict that China's natural gas resources are about 70 trillion cubic meters (about half of which are coal-bed methane). By the end of 1996, China's remaining recoverable reserves of natural gas were 0.7060 trillion cubic meters, and the world's remaining recoverable reserves of natural gas were 143.95 trillion cubic meters, ranking about 21st in the world.

China is not rich in uranium resources. According to the calculation of the reserves of a number of uranium ore fields successively provided by China to the International Atomic Energy Agency in recent years, China's proven uranium reserves rank the 10th in the world, which can not meet the long-term needs of the development of nuclear power. Geothermal resources refer to the heat resources inside the earth that can be developed and utilized economically for human beings, and it is also a kind of clean energy. Geothermal resources are widely distributed and abundant in China.

2. Metal mineral resources China has a complete range of metal mineral resources with abundant reserves and wide distribution. There are 54 kinds of minerals with proven reserves. They are: iron ore, manganese ore, chromium ore, titanium ore, vanadium ore, copper ore, lead ore, zinc ore, bauxite, magnesium ore, nickel ore, cobalt ore, tungsten ore, tin ore, bismuth ore, molybdenum ore, mercury ore, antimony ore, platinum group metals, germanium ore, gallium ore, indium ore, scheelite ore, Thallium Ore, hafnium ore, rhenium ore, cadmium ore, scandium ore, selenium ore, tellurium ore. The geological work degree of various minerals is different, and their resource abundance is also different. Some resources are rich, such as tungsten, molybdenum, tin, antimony, mercury, vanadium, titanium, rare earth, lead, zinc, copper and iron, while others are obviously insufficient, such as chromite.

3. There are many kinds of nonmetallic mineral resources in China, which are rich in resources and widely distributed. There are 88 kinds of non-metallic minerals with proven reserves, including diamond, graphite, natural sulfur, pyrite, crystal, corundum, kyanite, sillimanite, andalusite, wollastonite, sodium nitrate, talc, asbestos, blue asbestos, mica, feldspar, garnet, pyrophyllite, diopside, tremolite, vermiculite, zeolite, alunite, mirabilite, gypsum, barite, witherite and natural mineral Alkali, calcite, Iceland spar, magnesite, fluorite, gem, jade, agate, pigment mineral, limestone, marlstone, chalk, dolomite, quartzite, sandstone, natural quartz sand, vein quartz, siltstone, natural oilstone, potassium bearing sandstone, diatomite, shale, kaolin, ceramic soil, refractory clay, attapulgite clay, sepiolite clay, illite clay , Rectorite Clay, bentonite, bauxite, peridotite, serpentinite, basaltic amphibolite, gabbro, diabase, andesite, diorite, granite, perlite, pumice, nepheline syenite, trachyte, tuff, volcanic ash, cinder, marble, slate, gneiss, peat, salt mine, potassium salt, magnesium salt, iodine, bromine, arsenic, boron mine, phosphate rock.

3、 Main characteristics of China's mining resources

China's mineral resources have both advantages and disadvantages. The basic situation of the coexistence of advantages and disadvantages is mainly manifested in the following aspects: 1. The total amount of mineral resources is rich, and the per capita resources are relatively insufficient; 2. The variety of mineral resources is complete, and the style of resources is different; 3. The quality of mineral resources is uneven, and there are more poor and rich mines; 4. There are less super large deposits, and more small and medium-sized deposits; 5. There are more associated minerals, and less single mineral deposits.