In the first half of this year, the 12 mining rights launched by Qinghe County underwent multiple rounds of bidding, ultimately reaching a total transaction value of 181.7 million yuan. Currently, some of these companies have already begun operations.

This year, the central government, the autonomous region, and the prefectural-level governments have invested 35.18 million yuan in targeted exploration fund projects in Qinghe County. These efforts have successfully attracted investments from 12 leading enterprises, including the Xinjiang Team of the China National Building Materials Industry Geological Exploration Center, Xinjiang Haoneng Mining Co., Ltd., and Xinjiang Huazhong Economic & Trade Co., Ltd. It is expected that these projects will yield 150,000 tons of copper resources and 1.1 million tons of quartz, injecting new momentum into the county’s high-quality economic development.

The 2025 autonomous region fiscal-funded project—prospecting for microcrystalline quartz deposits in the Qianghanggou area of Qinghe County—has a total investment of 5.25 million yuan and is being implemented by the Xinjiang Team of the China National Building Materials Industry Geological Exploration Center.

Zhang Lei, the project leader for the Qinghe County survey in Xinjiang of the China Building Materials Industry Geological Exploration Center’s Xinjiang Team, said: “Currently, the project is in the exploration phase. We have already delineated more than 230 granitic pegmatite veins within the area, and through field selection and purification as well as report-body testing, we’ve screened the primary ore bodies. This year, we expect to submit a total of 500,000 tons of quartz ore.”

The starting bid for the exploration rights to the No. 2 Area of the North Quartz Mine in Xingfu Village, Qinghe County, was 530,000 yuan. Ultimately, the rights were won by Xinjiang Haoneng Mining Co., Ltd. for a final price of 40.73 million yuan. The mine is expected to generate substantial annual sales and create around 300 local jobs.

Ding Xiaoming, the person in charge of Qinghe County for Xinjiang Haoneng Mining Co., Ltd., said: “Currently, the total investment in the project is nearly 50 million yuan. We’ve completed a preliminary survey covering 5,000 meters, and we’ve already surveyed over 4,000 meters. The first phase of the project will require an investment of 750 million yuan, with a subsequent phase planned to include a 20-megawatt photovoltaic industry.”

Qinghe County has now identified 41 types of mineral resources, including gold, silver, copper, iron, graphite, and quartz—accounting for 23.7% of the total number of mineral species discovered nationwide. Public-interest basic geological surveys have revealed 168 mineral belts and ore occurrences, and there are currently 70 valid mining rights in operation.