It was recently learned at a media briefing held by the Ministry of Natural Resources that, in the first three quarters of this year, China has made several new major discoveries in nonferrous metal minerals, precious metal minerals, and chemical minerals, and has submitted a batch of identified resources with reserves of large-scale or larger.

　　Chen Hong, Director of the Reserves Management Division of the Mineral Resources Protection and Supervision Department and a Second-Level Inspector, introduced that the newly discovered gold reserves at the Tongshan Copper Mine in Nenjiang City, Heilongjiang Province, amount to 57.8 tons; copper reserves total 3.833 million tons; and molybdenum reserves stand at 137,000 tons (all figures represent metal content). In Leibo County, Sichuan Province, the Niuniuzhai Phosphate Mine and the Ajuluo Xia Phosphate Mine have each newly discovered phosphate reserves of 228.8 million tons and 138.702 million tons, respectively. At the Shangjiaopang Phosphate Mine in Weng'an County, Guizhou Province, newly discovered phosphate reserves total 78.862 million tons. In the Bumute Mining Area of Sunite Left Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, newly discovered fluorite reserves amount to 5.894 million tons (converted into calcium fluoride equivalent). Additionally, the Tangwuli Mining Area in Suichang County, Zhejiang Province, has newly discovered fluorite reserves totaling 1.028 million tons.

　　Data show that from January to September, a total of 984 exploration rights were granted nationwide, including 570 exploration rights for strategic minerals—a year-on-year increase of 218.4%. In terms of capital investment, from January to June, the country’s spending on oil and gas exploration reached 38.34 billion yuan, up 0.3% year-on-year; spending on solid mineral exploration totaled 5.646 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 20.4%, marking four consecutive years of growth and signaling entry into a new round of growth cycle.