On December 11, the Hubei Provincial Public Resources Trading Center publicly listed for auction online three shale gas exploration rights, including the Xianfeng I block. The total area of the Xianfeng shale gas block is 211.6 square kilometers, and the initial bidding price is 1.7 million yuan.
　　The “Implementation Plan for the New Round of Mineral Exploration Breakthrough Strategic Action in Hubei Province (2021–2025)” and the “Special Action Plan of the Provincial Department of Natural Resources on Winning the Battle to Explore, Develop, and Tap the Potential of Mineral Resources” propose enhancing the capacity to ensure mineral resource security and strengthening the exploration, development, and reserve increase and production expansion of key mineral resources across the province.
　　Since 2021, our province has newly discovered 34 mining areas with proven resource reserves, including 10 phosphate mining areas, 3 graphite mining areas, 4 gold mining areas, 8 copper mining areas, 3 iron mining areas, 2 iron-copper-gold polymetallic mining areas, 2 iron-copper mining areas, 1 copper-gold mining area, and 1 tungsten mining area. These discoveries provide a solid resource base for the province’s key industrial chains, such as nonferrous metals and new energy.
　　The new round of strategic actions for breakthroughs in mineral exploration has yielded remarkable results.
　　The report of the 12th Provincial Party Congress clearly stated, “Implement a new round of strategic actions to achieve breakthroughs in mineral exploration and promote the conservation, intensive use, and efficient utilization of mineral resources.”
　　This year, our province has seen a string of promising results from mineral exploration projects. In the Xiepeng mining area of Zhaoyang City, preliminary estimates indicate that the reserves of granite rough blocks for decorative use have reached large-scale levels. In the Caojiawan mining area of Daye City, preliminary estimates show that the reserves of wollastonite minerals have also reached large-scale levels. In the Gongjiahe-Qingchayuan graphite mine in Yiling District, Yichang, preliminary estimates suggest that the graphite mineral reserves have reached large-scale levels. At the Longjiaoshan project in Daye City, the estimated reserves of tungsten trioxide have reached large-scale levels, and all four newly drilled boreholes have successfully intersected mineralized zones. Additionally, the Hongye 7HF well, deployed by Sinopec Jianghan Oilfield in Lichuan, Enshi, has yielded a high-production industrial gas flow during testing, marking a significant breakthrough in the exploration of ultra-deep shale gas from the Wujiaping Formation of the Permian System in the Hongxing area of western Hubei Province.
　　Seeking funding from multiple sources, our province is promoting a batch of mineral exploration projects that are now fully underway across the Jingchu region.
　　Actively strive for central financial funding. In April 2023, in accordance with the requirements of the Exploration Technology Guidance Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources, our province completed the preparation of the feasibility study reports for the strategic mineral resource survey and evaluation project covering rare metals in Jingzhou-Shiyan, Hubei Province, as well as the strategic mineral survey project covering copper, gold, iron, and potash salt in Suizhou-Xianning, Hubei Province. In August 2023, we prepared exploration deployment plans for the following resource bases: the multi-metal resource base for copper, iron, gold, tungsten, and other rare metals in southeastern Hubei; the niobium-tantalum-rare earth-gold-silver multi-metal resource base in the “Two Zhu”—“Two Yun” region of northwestern Hubei; the gold-silver-copper-nickel-manganese multi-metal resource base spanning Tongbai, Henan Province, and Suizhou, Hubei Province; the resource base for lithium, potash salt, and other resources in the Jianghan Basin; and the energy resource base for shale gas, graphite, gold, phosphorus, manganese, lead, and zinc in western Hubei.
　　Increase provincial fiscal investment. From 2021 to 2023, our province invested a total of 240 million yuan from the provincial geological exploration fund, implementing 20 basic geological survey projects for mineral resources and 82 non-oil and gas mineral exploration projects. In total, we have completed mineral resource surveys and evaluations covering 7,655.6 square kilometers, 1:100,000-scale regional geological surveys covering 1,800 square kilometers, 1:50,000-scale regional geological surveys covering 1,000 square kilometers, 1:25,000-scale regional geological surveys covering 50 square kilometers, as well as drilling totaling 113,000 meters and trenching amounting to 44,000 cubic meters.
　　Leading and driving local fiscal development. Yichang City has established a leading group headed by the mayor, setting up a municipal geological exploration fund of 28 million yuan. Currently, design reviews for six geological prospecting projects are proceeding smoothly. In Changyang, Yuan'an, and Dangyang, local governments have invested a total of 27.96 million yuan to carry out three lithium ore exploration projects. In Huangshi City, under the leadership of city officials, a special task force has been set up to boost investment and expand capacity in the mineral resources sector. Yangxin County and Daye City have jointly invested 38.4 million yuan in fiscal funds to launch seven strategic mineral exploration projects targeting gold, copper, and other key minerals.
　　Strengthen basic geological surveys and exploration for strategic mineral resources.
　　Mineral resources are the “grain of industry.” How can we strengthen the exploration and utilization of strategic mineral resources?
　　Our province is strengthening basic geological surveys in key areas such as the Qinling-Tongbai-Dabie orogenic belt and the southeastern Hubei mineral concentration zone, addressing major fundamental geological issues that have been hindering breakthroughs in mineral exploration. We are identifying the geological settings, metallogenic conditions, metallogenic patterns, and exploration indicators for key metallogenic regions (belts). We are also conducting comparative studies on typical mining areas such as the Shapingou molybdenum deposit in Anhui and the Laowan gold deposit in Henan, systematically analyzing the metallogenic geological settings and conditions of minerals associated with Mesozoic magmatic rocks in our province and neighboring regions within the same tectonic belts.
　　Focusing on the key mineralization belts of “Four Belts and Two Zones,” our province is concentrating on energy minerals, strategically critical minerals, and advantageous minerals, stepping up efforts in mineral resource exploration and increasing reserves. We are strengthening deep-earth prospecting work, exploring the establishment of comprehensive deep-earth exploration models to guide such efforts. In particular, we are intensifying exploration and prospecting activities in the southeastern Hubei copper-iron-gold ore concentration area within the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River mineralization belt, as well as in the deep peripheral regions of silver-gold deposits along the eastern section of the Qinling Mountains in Hubei Province. We are also promoting exploration in the deep peripheral areas of old mining districts, with the aim of discovering and confirming new mineral reserves.
　　As of late December 2023, the province has already achieved ahead of schedule its mineral exploration targets for the 14th Five-Year Plan period for tungsten and graphite deposits. Phosphate deposits are nearing completion of their 14th Five-Year Plan exploration targets. Significant progress has also been made in the exploration of strategic minerals such as iron, copper, and gold, as well as energy minerals like shale gas. Since 2021, the exploration efforts led by the Provincial Department of Natural Resources—specifically wells E'en Di 2, E'ba Di 3, and E'xuan Ye 1—have yielded remarkable results. Well E'xuan Ye 1 encountered a shale gas reservoir with high gas content in the Dalong Formation of the Permian System. The well penetrated nearly 30 meters of high-quality shale within the Dalong Formation; key indicators such as the thickness and gas content of this high-quality shale all meet the standards for Class I shale gas reservoirs. These findings preliminarily confirm that the Qiliping structure in western Hubei holds great potential for the development and utilization of shale gas resources.
　　Technology Empowers a New Round of Mineral Exploration Initiatives
　　Longjiaoshan in Daye City is an old mining area. Previous generations had conducted multiple rounds of mineral exploration in this region and concluded that the ore bodies at Longjiaoshan are primarily hosted within the silicocalcium zones of the Silurian and Carboniferous systems. At the outset of the new round of exploration, the results were disappointing, leaving the project team facing significant challenges. Starting from a careful review of the basic geological data, the team began to look for even the faintest “clues” left by the ore bodies. Eventually, they developed a comprehensive three-part metallogenic model: "hydrothermal vein-type molybdenum deposits within the rock mass—skarn-type copper-molybdenum-tungsten deposits along the main contact zone—tungsten-copper deposits occurring at the distal margins of the rock mass within the silicocalcium zone."
　　Based on the new mineral exploration theory, the project team made corresponding adjustments to the locations of the drill holes, shifting from targeting the silico-calcareous interface to focusing on the main contact zone. As a result, borehole ZK5401 encountered a tungsten-molybdenum ore body over 90 meters thick, boreholes ZK5402 and ZK6001 each revealed tungsten-molybdenum (and copper) ore bodies exceeding 60 meters in thickness, and borehole ZK4601 struck a tungsten-molybdenum ore body measuring 158 meters long... The Longjiaoshan mining area has finally achieved a breakthrough, rewriting our province's history of lacking large-scale tungsten deposits.
　　Our province has launched research on major geological issues that constrain mineral exploration and undertaken targeted scientific and technological breakthroughs. Significant progress has been made in the study of process mineralogy and beneficiation tests for alkaline volcanic rock-type niobium-tantalum deposits in northwestern Hubei and clay-type lithium deposits in southwestern Hubei. A novel set of geological and mineralogical geochemical indicators has been proposed for identifying Mesozoic porphyry molybdenum ore-forming rock bodies of the Dabie type. We have also carried out preliminary studies on the deep geological structure of the southeastern Hubei mineral concentration area, as well as research on the distribution patterns and control mechanisms of deep-seated ore-forming structures and structural planes, and explored new methods and technologies for deep mineral exploration, thereby comprehensively enhancing the theoretical and methodological research system for deep mineral exploration in southeastern Hubei. The compilation of “China Mineral Geology Chronicle—Hubei Volume” has been completed, significantly elevating the level of scientific research in the field of mineral resources in Hubei Province. Furthermore, digital geology and geological operations have been deeply integrated, and the construction of a comprehensive monitoring platform covering the entire lifecycle of mineral resources has been fully launched.
　　Jointly promote cooperation and exchange to achieve breakthroughs in mineral exploration.
　　Since the beginning of this year, our province has successively held a provincial seminar on lithium ore and a seminar on the new round of mineral exploration breakthrough strategic initiative for the Wudang-Tongbai-Dabie region, among other events. These seminars provided opportunities for exchanging and discussing topics such as technical requirements for the provincial survey of sedimentary clay-type lithium deposits and key priorities for the deployment of the new round of mineral exploration breakthrough strategic initiative. The Provincial Department of Natural Resources has actively participated in the seminar on the deployment of energy resource bases for the new round of mineral exploration breakthrough strategic initiative in the Central-South region, strengthening efforts to secure support from higher authorities and upholding collaborative partnerships.
　　The jointly established China-Africa Geoscience Cooperation Center and the Shale Gas Research Center for Southern Complex Tectonic Regions—built by units under the China Geological Survey, provincial departments of natural resources, and other relevant organizations—represent an important opportunity for our province to deepen its integration into the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, enhance open cooperation with Africa, and accelerate high-quality development. These centers also provide a “smart brain” for research on geological theories of shale gas accumulation in southern complex tectonic regions such as western Hubei, as well as for developing resource potential evaluation systems and exploration technology methodologies, thereby speeding up the commercial exploration, development, and utilization of shale gas in our province.
　　It is reported that our province has achieved full coverage of regional cooperation with neighboring provinces (and cities) as well as the six central provinces. Moving forward, our province will continue to deepen the coordination between the central and local governments, strengthen inter-provincial collaboration, focus on serving the overall national interest, enhance our capacity to ensure mineral resource security, and make new contributions to building a leading zone for China’s efforts to establish a new development paradigm.