China has achieved significant breakthroughs in mineral exploration so far during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), as part of efforts to optimize the nation's energy structure and improve its energy security, said a senior official from the Ministry of Natural Resources on Wednesday.
Speaking at a conference in Beijing, Xu Dachun, vice minister of natural resources and head of the China Geological Survey, said the country has invested a total of nearly 450 billion yuan (about 63.19 billion U.S. dollars) in mineral exploration since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period and achieved significant breakthroughs therein.
"During the 14th Five-Year Plan period so far, we have identified 10 large oil fields and 19 large gas fields. The substantial increase in new oil and gas reserves supports the country's annual oil production of 200 million tons and natural gas output exceeding 240 billion cubic meters. Regarding bulk minerals, old bases have been revitalized, while new bases have emerged. Major breakthroughs have also been made in the exploration of strategic emerging minerals. We have discovered a 2,800-kilometer-long lithium belt known as 'Asia's gold belt of lithium'," he said.
"We've also improved technology to extract lithium from potassium salt brine. Helium is another important mineral. China used to rely heavily on imports, but now, through scientific and technological breakthroughs, we've developed a system for extracting helium from natural gas. This has enabled us to achieve a major breakthrough in helium production, going from scratch. Currently, helium production can meet the nation's core needs," Xu continued.
China achieves major breakthroughs in mineral exploration in 2021-2025: official
