The Department of Natural Resources of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region recently revealed that, since the launch of the new round of strategic actions for mineral exploration breakthroughs, Xinjiang has continuously increased its financial investment in geological exploration, established and improved incentive and constraint mechanisms, and strengthened support for scientific and technological innovation, achieving a series of new breakthroughs in mineral exploration. As of the end of 2024, all 14 mineral types targeted by the state for exploration during the 14th Five-Year Plan period have been fully achieved in Xinjiang, with overfulfillment recorded for six of these mineral types.

Xinjiang boasts favorable geological conditions for mineral resource formation and is an important national region poised to serve as a successor area for energy and resource development. In recent years, taking the implementation of a new round of strategic actions aimed at breakthroughs in mineral exploration as an opportunity, Xinjiang has focused on “what the nation needs and what Xinjiang can deliver,” concentrating on ensuring energy and resource security and meeting the demands of building Xinjiang’s “Ten Major Industrial Clusters.” Leveraging its endowment of resources and geographical advantages, Xinjiang is placing particular emphasis on strategic and bulk minerals such as iron, gold, copper, nickel, lead-zinc, and lithium, with the goal of establishing large-scale resource bases and vigorously advancing geological exploration efforts.

Since 2023, oil and gas exploration projects funded by Xinjiang’s finance have been yielding frequent good news: the Shajingzi Block 3 in Aksu City has discovered an additional 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas; the Manas River-Santun River coalbed methane field in southern Junnan has added 65.3 billion cubic meters of coalbed methane; the Chaiwobao Depression project in Urumqi City has discovered an additional 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas; and Jianggalesay in Yecheng County has found an additional 105.3 billion cubic meters of shale gas.

Meanwhile, Xinjiang has carried out focused exploration and evaluation of a number of large-scale mineral deposits, adding new resource reserves at sites including the Hejing Nuor Lake iron ore deposit, the Hami Niumaquan ilmenite-titanium deposit, the Hotan Dahongliutan lithium deposit, the Hotan Huohao Yun lead-zinc deposit, the Wucha Sawayaltun gold deposit, and the Qiemo Bashgank gold deposit. In 2023, Xinjiang established and consolidated 12 large-scale resource bases, including the Bachu-Atush base; in 2024, it will establish an additional six large-scale resource bases, such as the Hami Weiya-Niumaquan base.

In addition, building on its 2024 investment of 500 million yuan to carry out 108 geological exploration projects, Xinjiang’s finance increased its funding commitment in 2025, allocating 917 million yuan to launch 181 geological exploration projects focused on strategic mineral resources such as oil and gas, iron, manganese, chromium, vanadium, and cobalt. To date, more than 15,000 geologists from 286 geological survey institutions and mining enterprises have been engaged in geological exploration activities in Xinjiang, creating a situation akin to a “large-scale mineral-searching campaign.”