Korean media: China has become the world's largest producer, consumer, and trader of mineral resources!
On January 24, the Korean media "Energy Daily" published an article stating that according to a survey, China is the world's largest producer, consumer, and trader of mineral resources.
The Ministry of Natural Resources of China recently released the "China Mineral Resources Report (2025)", which includes the status of China's energy and mineral resources as of the end of 2024.
The report points out that China is the world's largest producer, consumer, and trader of mineral resources. The production of 13 types of minerals, consumption of 23 types of minerals, and imports of 11 types of minerals account for more than half of the global total production, consumption, and import volume of minerals, respectively.
A new strategy for expanding mineral exploration has yielded fruitful results in major mining areas and large oil and gas basins. In 2024, 150 new mineral sites were discovered, including 49 medium-sized mining areas, 54 small and medium-sized mining areas, and 47 small mining areas. Major mineral discoveries include fluorite, lithium, gold, and iron. In terms of oil and gas resources, new layers, new areas, and new types have been found in regions such as the Tarim Basin, Junggar Basin, and Sichuan Basin. In non-oil and gas resources, the reserves of major mineral resources such as copper, iron, and phosphate have significantly increased, as well as resources such as lithium, zirconium, hafnium, rare earth elements, helium, tungsten, molybdenum, antimony, fluorite, and graphite.
In 2024, China's investment in geological exploration reached 115.994 billion yuan, continuing to grow for the fourth consecutive year. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the cumulative investment reached 450 billion yuan. In 2024, fixed asset investment in China's mining industry increased by 10.5% year-on-year. The output of ten types of non-ferrous metals continued to grow, and the output of energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas all reached record highs.
At the same time, analysis indicates that China has recently adopted a new mineral exploration strategy to increase energy and mineral production, but China remains highly dependent on foreign imports, with sustained demand growth, so measures need to be taken.
Especially the import volume of oil and natural gas remains high, and the import volume of key minerals such as iron ore and copper continues to grow.
The Ministry of Natural Resources of China stated that by 2050, the consumption of primary mineral resources will remain high, the total energy demand will increase, but the energy structure will adjust, and coal consumption will reach a peak and then decline.
The China Geological Survey predicts that the demand for energy and mineral resources in China will continue to grow. Among them, due to the development of the renewable energy industry, the demand for copper is expected to show a long-term upward trend; and due to the expansion of the artificial intelligence and new materials industries, the demand for information technology-related minerals such as lithium, rare earths, gallium, and indium is expected to increase several times.
China's industrial development requires a stable supply of critical mineral resources, but the speed of new resource reserves and domestic production is far lower than the actual consumption speed.
Experts said that overseas expansion is not an option for Chinese mining companies, but a necessary choice. The mineral resources in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America are of high quality, large reserves, and good mining conditions. Therefore, expanding to these regions and obtaining overseas resources will help companies reduce long-term costs and improve profitability.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1855185835628548/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.