Mining industry of China

China's mineral resources are diverse and rich. As of at least 2022, more than 200 types of minerals are actively explored or mined in China. These resources are widely but not evenly distributed throughout the country. Taken as a whole, China's national economy and exports do not rely on the mining industry, but the industry is critical to various subnational Chinese governments.

During the Mao Zedong era, mineral exploration and mining was limited to state-owned enterprises and collectively-owned enterprises and private exploration of mineral resources was largely prohibited. The industry was opened to private enterprises in the 1980s and became increasingly marketized in the 1990s. In the mid-2000s, the Chinese government sought to consolidate the industry due to concerns about underutilization of resources, workplace safety, and environmental harm. During that period, state-owned enterprises purchased smaller privately-owned mines. China's mining industry grew substantially and the period from the early 2000s to 2012 is often referred to as a "golden decade" in the industry

## Overview

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China's mineral resources include fuel (such as coal, oil, and natural gas), nonfuel metals, and nonmetal minerals.[1]: 38 As of at least 2022, more than 200 types of minerals in China are actively explored or mined.[1]: 38

Its mineral resources are widely but not evenly distributed throughout the country.[1]: 38 Although China's national economy and exports do not rely extensively on mineral production, various subnational governments rely heavily on the mining and resources industry.[1]: 6

The country is both a major producer and a major consumer of mineral resources.[1]: 5–6

### History

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During the planned economy of the Mao Zedong era, mineral exploration and mining was limited to state-owned enterprises and collectively-owned enterprises.[1]: 39 Private exploration of mineral resources was largely prohibited.[1]: 39

During the 1980s as part of Reform and Opening Up, the central government encouraged private exploration and mineral use under the policy of "speeding up the water flow".[1]: 39 In 1986, China passed its first Mineral Resources Law, which confirmed state ownership of mineral resources and authorized exploration of mineral resources by various kinds of public and private entities.[1]: 39 Per these policies, SOEs continued to own and operate the largest and richest mines in China although smaller mines in less strategic industries were available to private and collective enterprises.[1]: 39 During this period, the mining industry and the regulatory environment remained relatively underdeveloped and profitability in the industry was generally low.[1]: 39-40

China's mining industry became more marketized in the 1990s, especially after Deng Xiaoping's 1992 Southern Tour.[1]: 40 In 1996, the Mineral Resources Law was revised to more clearly define procedures for mineral extraction and the regulatory roles of government bodies.[1]: 40 In the late 1990s, reform of China's state-owned enterprises resulted in numerous state-owned enterprises in the minerals industry being acquired by private investors.[1]: 40 By the end of the 1990s, China had become the world's second largest producer of solid minerals and was the largest producer of various specific minerals, including iron and coal, among others.[1]: 38

In the mid-2000s, the Chinese government sought to consolidate the mining industry, including through state-owned enterprises acquiring smaller private mines.[1]: 40–41 This approach was driven by concern over environmental harm, workplace safety, and inefficient utilization of mineral deposits.[1]: 40–41 China's mining industry grew substantially and the period from the early 2000s to 2012 is often referred to as a "golden decade" in the industry.[1]: 41

In 2013, the State Council designated 262 cities across China as "resource-rich cities".[1]: 38

### Policy and regulatory environment

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China's Two Markets, Two Resources (which is related to the Go Out policy) emphasizes leveraging domestic supply sources of resources (including through increased investment in prospecting and mining) and international sources of resources (through various strategies, including foreign acquisition, investment, short-term purchasing, and long-term purchase contracts).[2]: 73–74 Related, the One Third, One Third, One Third policy prescribes that in procuring natural resources, one third of China's supply should come from domestic production, one third from direct procurement contracts, and one third from foreign acquisitions.[2]: 74

The National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration of China's mandate is to stockpile strategic resources and to intervene when necessary in markets.[2]: 218 For example, in 2005 and 2021, it released copper into the global markets.[2]: 218

## Industry segments

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### Antimony

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In 2022, according to the US Geological Survey, China accounted for 54.5% of total antimony production, followed by Russia with 18.2% and Tajikistan with 15.5%.[3]

### Cobalt

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China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have significant trade in cobalt, a metal for which China is the world's largest consumer due to its importance in batteries for electric vehicles.[4]: 127 As of at least 2024, the DRC produces more than 70% of the world's cobalt, and most of this production goes to China.[4]: 127 Chinese companies account for the majority of cobalt mining in the DRC.[4]: 127

China is a world leader in refining Cobalt, with a 68% share in global supply as of 2022.[5]

### Coal

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See also: Coal in China

Coal exists in almost all Chinese provinces although major coal mining sites are largely located in northern and central China.[1]: 38–39

As part of China's efforts to achieve its pledges of peak coal consumption by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, a nationwide effort to reduce overcapacity resulted in the closure of many small and dirty coal mines.[6]: 70 Major coal-producing regions like Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Shanxi instituted administrative caps on coal output.[6]: 70

### Copper

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Copper is one of the most critical industrial minerals given its importance in any electricity-related technology.[2]: 210 It is essential in traditional power generating technology, but even more central to for wind power, solar power, and electric vehicle technology.[2]: 210

As of 2010, China had more than 800 copper mines.[2]: 189

China became the world's largest importer of copper in 2008 and has continued to be as of at least 2023.[2]: 187

### Gold

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This section is an excerpt from Gold mining in China.[edit]

China mined production of gold

Gold mining in the People's Republic of China has made that country the world's largest gold producer.[7] In 2022, China mined 403 tons of gold. Data indicates the marginal costs are often above the world price for gold.[8] For the year 2007, gold output rose 12% from 2006 to 276 tonnes (9,700,000 oz; 304 short tons) to become the world's largest for the first time—overtaking South Africa, which produced 272 tonnes (9,600,000 oz; 300 short tons).[9] South Africa had until then been the largest for 101 years straight since 1905. The major reasons for this change in position had been due to South African production falling by 50% in the past decade as production costs there have risen, more stringent safety regulations have been implemented, and existing mines have become depleted.

On the other hand, as of 2014 gold output in China had more than doubled since year 2000. In recent years, China's gold mining industry has received increased foreign and domestic investment, and project numbers have increased as more discoveries have been found. China produced nearly 300 tonnes of gold in 2008. It is also the only country in the top three where production rose in 2008.[10] In 2014, production had increased to 450 tonnes.[11]

### Iron

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Beginning in 2003 and continuing through at least 2024, China has been the world's largest importer of iron ore.[2]: 23 Its domestic production peaked in 2007 at 402 million tonnes.[2]: 102

China's domestic iron ore sector is highly fragmented among a large number of companies.[2]: 102–103

The global iron ore market was subject to benchmark pricing negotiating.[2]: 31 In 2006, Baosteel became the lead negotiator on the buyer side.[2]: 31 In 2009, the Chinese government named China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) the new negotiator.[2]: 109 The benchmark pricing system for iron ore ended in 2010 and was replaced with a spot market.[2]: 31

In 2012, CISA along with the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Importers & Exporters and the China Beijing International Mining Exchange created CBMX, an iron ore spot trading platform in China.[2]: 117–118 In 2014, the CBMX platform was transferred to a Chinese and foreign joint venture (the Beijing Iron Ore Trading Center Corporation, or COREX) and ownership was broadened to include trading houses and the four largest Chinese steel mills, in addition to CISA.[2]: 118

In July 2022, China's central government created the state-owned entity China Mineral Resources Group, which is designed to better coordinate China's interactions with the global iron ore industry.[2]: 49

### Lithium

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China is a world leader in refining lithium, with a 72% share in global supply as of 2022.[5]

### Potash

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Most potash deposits in China are concentrated in the deserts and salt flats of the endorheic basins of its western provinces, particularly Qinghai. Geological expeditions discovered the reserves in the 1950s[12] but commercial exploitation lagged until China's Reform and Opening Up. The 1989 opening of the Qinghai Potash Fertilizer Factory in the remote Qarhan Playa increased China's production of potassium chloride sixfold, from less than 40,000 t (39,000 long tons; 44,000 short tons) a year at Haixi and Tanggu to just under 240,000 t (240,000 long tons; 260,000 short tons) a year.[13]

The global potash market is subject to benchmark negotiations pricing negotiations.[2]: 32 As of at least 2023, China is the lead benchmark negotiator on the buyer side.[2]: 31

### Rare earths

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This section is an excerpt from Rare earth industry in China.[edit]

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2021)

|

The rare earth industry in China is a large industry. Rare earths are a group of elements on the periodic table with similar properties. Rare earth metals are used to manufacture technologies including electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines, consumer electronics and other clean energy technologies.[14] The rare earths cause improved system performance when for example electric battery terminal LiMn2O4 cathodes are doped with them,[15] and it is known that some EVs use lithium-ion batteries such as these.[16] Tesla automobiles "currently uses an lithium-nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) chemistry, while lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) chemistries are common across the rest of the EV industry." Vehicle "manufacturers are keen to reduce reliance on rare earths, which like cobalt, suffers from highly concentrated supply and unpredictable pricing, with China holding a virtual global monopoly in primary supply and processing."[17] Leading battery manufacturer Samsung SDI uses this technology for its phone and portable computer batteries.[18]

The elements are also important to national governments because they are used in the defense industry.[19] Twenty percent of rare earth demands are for use as permanent magnets.[19] Permanent magnets can be used for a variety of applications including serving as essential components of weapons systems and high performance aircraft.[19]

Rare earths are found in various minerals such as monazite and bastnasite.[20] Major reserves in the world exist in China, California (USA), India, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, and Malaysia.[20] However, China accounts for over 95 percent of the world's production of rare earths.[21]

### Uranium

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China's domestic market for uranium is highly concentrated because Chinese policy identifies uranium as a strategic resource and only select companies are authorized to mine it.[2]: 201 The country's civilian nuclear industry and its mining are industry are largely concentrated in China General Nuclear Power Group and China National Nuclear Corporation, two state-owned enterprise that report to the State Council.[2]: 201

China's uranium resources are significantly less than its needs.[2]: 191 At most, 1% of known recoverable uranium reserves are located in China.[2]: 191–193 Its domestic sources are low quality and therefore expensive to mine.[2]: 199

Per China's Two Markets, Two Resources frame work and its One Third, One Third, One Third policy, China has significantly invested in developing domestic sources of uranium.[2]: 197 In 2000, China's uranium output was 700 tonnes.[2]: 197 By 2010, China had ten uranium mines producing approximately 1,200 tonnes annually.[2]: 197 In 2015, China produced 1,616 tonnes of uranium, which was approximately 3% of global production that year.[2]: 193 As of at least 2020, the country produced 1,885 tonnes annually, which amounted to 19% of its annual requirements.[2]: 197

China's poor uranium resources have resulted in the country developing a strong foreign procurement strategy.[2]: 199 China became the world's largest importer of uranium in 2008 and has continued to be as of at least 2023.[2]: 187 Two entities in China account for most of the country's uranium importation.[2]: 188

China's uranium procurement approach includes investment in foreign mining operations.[2]: 187 From 2008 until at least 2024, China was one of only four countries to report non-domestic uranium exploration and development expenses.[2]: 205 Chinese investment in Kazakhstan mines have contributed to Kazakhstan's current position as the world's largest exporter of uranium.[2]: 188 Namibia has been another major destination for Chinese investment in uranium mining and Chinese companies have invested in Namibia's three biggest uranium producers: Husab, Langer Heinrich, and Rössing.[2]: 205

## See also

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* Mining in Hong Kong
* Mining in Asia
* List of mines in China
* Enterprises:
* Jiangxi Copper
* Aluminum Corporation of China Limited
* China Minmetals
* China National Coal Group
* China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group
* Economy of China
* Related industries:
* Steel industry of China
* Lithium batteries in China

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Zhan, Jing Vivian (2022). China's Contained Resource Curse: How Minerals Shape State-Capital-Labor Relations. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-04898-9.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak Massot, Pascale (2024). China's Vulnerability Paradox: How the World's Largest Consumer Transformed Global Commodity Markets. New York, NY, United States of America: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-777140-2.
3. ^ "Antimony Statistics and Information" (PDF). National Minerals Information Center. USGS.
4. ^ a b c Garlick, Jeremy (2024). Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-350-25231-8.
5. ^ a b "Tensions Grow as China Ramps up Global Mining for Green Tech". BBC. 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
6. ^ a b Zhang, Angela Huyue (2024). High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780197682258.
7. ^ ""Gold Mining Map and Gold Production in 2016 - World Gold Council". www.gold.org. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
8. ^ "China – Mining by the numbers, 2022".
9. ^ allAfrica.com: South Africa: Booming China is World's New Egoli (Page 1 of 1)
10. ^ [1][dead link]
11. ^ "U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2016" (PDF). USGS. 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
12. ^ Zheng Mianping (1997), An Introduction to Saline Lakes on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, p. 3–5, ISBN 9789401154581.
13. ^ Garrett, Donald Everett (1996), Potash: Deposits, Processing, Properties, and Uses, London: Chapman & Hall, p. 176–177, ISBN 9789400915459.
14. ^ "China may not issue new 2011 rare earths export quota: report". Reuters. 31 December 2010.
15. ^ Ram, Pura; Gören, Attila; Ferdov, Stanislav; Silva, Maria M.; Singhal, Rahul; Costa, Carlos M.; Sharma, Rakesh K.; Lanceros-Méndez, Senentxu (2016). "Improved performance of rare earth doped LiMn2O4cathodes for lithium-ion battery applications". New Journal of Chemistry. 40 (7): 6244–6252. doi:10.1039/C6NJ00198J.
16. ^ Iclodean, C.; Varga, B.; Burnete, N.; Cimerdean, D.; Jurchiş, B. (2017). "Comparison of Different Battery Types for Electric Vehicles". IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 252 (1): 012058. Bibcode:2017MS&E..252a2058I. doi:10.1088/1757-899X/252/1/012058.
17. ^ JOHNSON, SCOTT K. (24 September 2020). "Here's what Tesla will put in its new batteries". WIRED Media Group Condé Nast. Ars Technica.
18. ^ Jamasmie, Cecilia (3 May 2019). "Tesla warns of coming battery minerals shortage". Glacier Media Group. mining.com.
19. ^ a b c Medeiros, Carlos Aguiar De; Trebat, Nicholas M.; Medeiros, Carlos Aguiar De; Trebat, Nicholas M. (July 2017). "Transforming natural resources into industrial advantage: the case of China's rare earths industry". Brazilian Journal of Political Economy. 37 (3): 504–526. doi:10.1590/0101-31572017v37n03a03. ISSN 0101-3157.
20. ^ a b Goldman, Joanne Abel (April 2014). "The U.S. Rare Earth Industry: Its Growth and Decline". Journal of Policy History. 26 (2): 139–166. doi:10.1017/s0898030614000013. ISSN 0898-0306. S2CID 154319330.
21. ^ Tse, Pui-Kwan. "USGS Report Series 2011–1042: China's Rare-Earth Industry". pubs.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-04.