This morning, the Ministry of Natural Resources held a press conference to release information on China’s efforts in conserving and making comprehensive use of mineral resources.

One China has basically completed the assessment of its mineral resource “three rates.”

　　To accurately grasp the current status of conservation and comprehensive utilization of China’s important mineral resources, the Ministry of Natural Resources has launched a nationwide survey and evaluation of the “three rates” for 22 key minerals—including coal, petroleum, and iron.

　　Over a period of more than three years, a total of 19,432 mines (including oil and gas fields) for 22 different mineral types nationwide were surveyed. The current status of the “three rates” for mineral resources of the surveyed minerals was identified, and a national database of mines for 22 key mineral types has been essentially established. This provides crucial foundational data for gaining a comprehensive understanding of the “three rates” situation across various regions and mineral types, as well as for the rational development, utilization, and management of these resources.

　　The survey results indicate that, after more than a decade of development, China has achieved significant improvements in the overall level of mineral resource utilization. Compared with the results of a sample survey conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources in 1999, coal mining and beneficiation have seen the fastest progress: the recovery rate in coal mining areas and the raw coal preparation rate have both increased by more than 15 percentage points; the recovery rate for black metal minerals has risen by 5.67 percentage points; and the recovery rates for nonferrous metal minerals have generally increased as well.

　　Through investigation and analysis, we have gained a preliminary understanding and made basic judgments about the utilization of China’s mineral resources, reflecting that China’s mining development and utilization are gradually shifting from extensive to efficient and intensive use.

Two The evaluation system for the “three rates” indicators of major minerals has been basically established.

　　Strengthening the supervision of the rational exploration and utilization of mineral resources hinges on objectively and accurately evaluating the effectiveness of resource utilization. Establishing a scientific and rational indicator system is fundamental to this effort. The Ministry of Natural Resources has timely organized relevant institutions to conduct research and develop the "Technical Indicators for Comprehensive Utilization of Mineral Resources and Their Calculation Methods," standardizing and unifying the "three rates"—mineral extraction recovery rate, ore dressing recovery rate, and comprehensive utilization rate—as industry evaluation indicators. Furthermore, the ministry has begun studying and formulating specific "three-rate" standards for key minerals, which will serve as binding "red lines" guiding mining enterprises in their exploration and utilization of mineral resources.

　　For four consecutive years, we have systematically collated, summarized, and analyzed relevant data on mine design and production, combined with field investigations, and carefully examined various influencing factors—including different ore deposit types, mining methods, and beneficiation processes. As a result, we have developed—through phased and batch-wise studies—“three-rate” indicator requirements for a total of 27 mineral resources. These indicators have been released for trial implementation, covering three energy minerals—coal, petroleum, and natural gas—as well as ten non-ferrous metals—gold, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, tungsten, molybdenum, nickel, tin, and antimony—and four ferrous metals—vanadium-titanium magnetite, iron, manganese, and chromium—and ten non-metallic minerals—rare earths, phosphate rock, potash, pyrite, kaolin, fluorite, graphite, asbestos, gypsum, and talc.

　　A preliminary evaluation indicator system for the conservation and comprehensive utilization of mineral resources for major mineral types has been established, enabling objective assessment and standardized management of mineral resource conservation and comprehensive utilization.

Three The promotion of advanced and applicable technologies for conservation and comprehensive utilization is beginning to yield results.

　　Promoting and applying advanced technologies can conserve resources, reduce labor input, and lower costs. It is a key driver for fundamentally transforming the way resources are utilized and an important component of upgrading China’s economy. Since 2012, the Ministry of Natural Resources has established a system for publishing a catalog of advanced and applicable technologies and has strengthened the supervision and management of the promotion of these advanced technologies. For four consecutive years, the ministry has carried out a recommendation and selection process for advanced and applicable technologies in the conservation and comprehensive utilization of mineral resources. After recommendations from provincial-level natural resource authorities and relevant central enterprises, expert evaluations, and public announcements, the selected advanced technologies have been officially announced and released.

　　Over the past four years, a total of four batches comprising 210 advanced and applicable technologies have been released, covering various fields such as energy, metals, and nonmetals—including mining, ore dressing, and integrated utilization and development. The Ministry of Natural Resources has adopted diverse approaches to establish information-sharing platforms, enabling “enterprises with specific needs to find suitable technologies and advanced technologies to find enterprises that can effectively apply them,” thereby enhancing both the conversion rate and the dissemination of these advanced and applicable technologies.

　　During this period, key technologies for the efficient exploitation of oil and gas resources—including enhanced recovery techniques for ultra-heavy oil reservoirs, high-water-content reservoirs, and low-permeability reservoirs—have been widely promoted. These technologies are expected to add nearly 2.7 billion tons of recoverable reserves. For coal resources, emphasis has been placed on promoting technologies such as backfill mining and mechanized mining of thin coal seams, which are projected to unlock an additional 14 billion tons of coal resources in China. In the realm of metallic minerals, the focus has been on advancing technologies including backfill mining, ultra-fine crushing of ore, efficient beneficiation of low-grade resources, and comprehensive utilization of waste materials. As a result, it is estimated that 6 billion tons of previously difficult-to-utilize iron ore resources will be effectively mobilized. For chemical minerals, the primary technologies being promoted include flotation of low-grade phosphate ores and efficient utilization of solid potash ores. These efforts are expected to unlock nearly 1.7 billion tons of low-grade collophosphate ores and 170 million tons of solid potash salts in China.

Four The reform of the regulatory system for resource conservation and comprehensive utilization in mining enterprises has achieved breakthroughs.

　　In accordance with the requirements of the CPC Central Committee on comprehensively deepening reform and the State Council’s planning for the construction of a social credit system, and in order to strengthen the supervision and management of mineral rights holders’ rational development and utilization of mineral resources, promote their integrity and self-discipline, reinforce credit-based constraints, and enhance regulatory effectiveness, since 2014 we have been conducting research and proposing reforms to the existing supervisory management approach, which has primarily relied on annual inspections. We are implementing a system of public disclosure of information on mineral rights holders to foster their integrity and self-discipline, strengthen credit-based constraints, address past shortcomings in the supervision of mineral rights holders’ fulfillment of statutory obligations and their rational development and utilization of mineral resources, and establish a new mechanism featuring “credit-based constraints on mineral rights holders, along with joint oversight by regulatory authorities and society.”

　　In September 2015, the “Measures for Public Disclosure of Exploration and Mining Information by Mineral Rights Holders (Trial)” were issued, stipulating that mineral rights holders shall promptly disclose their exploration and mining information and proactively accept supervision. At the same time, a credit-based constraint and punishment mechanism for mineral rights holders has been established. The competent department of land and resources is responsible for guiding or organizing spot checks on the disclosed information, or conducting verification based on reported complaints. A “blacklist” (including an abnormal list and a list of serious violations) has also been set up. Mineral rights holders listed on the abnormal list or the list of serious violations will be publicly exposed, warned, or disciplined in accordance with the law, gradually turning the conservation and comprehensive utilization of mineral resources into a conscious practice among mineral rights holders.

　　Protecting resources means protecting the ecological environment. Saving resources is the fundamental strategy for safeguarding the ecological environment, and it represents an important pathway to fundamentally transform the way resources are utilized and to enhance resource-use efficiency and benefits. Moving forward, the Ministry of Natural Resources will earnestly implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, accurately grasp the new situation and emerging requirements, identify key areas of focus, and use a new development philosophy to guide reform and development in the field of mineral resources. We will vigorously promote the efficient and intensive utilization of mineral resources and continuously elevate the level of ecological civilization construction.