1. A major rare-earth deposit has been discovered in Guangxi, with reserves sufficient for 100 years of mining.

The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Department of Natural Resources and Land Development reported that, after four years of exploration, Guangxi has discovered a super-large rare-earth deposit in the Dazhou mining area of Pingnan County. The results of this mineral survey were awarded by the Geological Society of China as one of the “Top Ten Geological Exploration Achievements of 2016.”

It is understood that the prospecting of rare-earth mineral deposits in the Dazhou mining area of Pingnan County was one of the third batch of large-scale geological and mineral exploration projects in Guangxi for 2010, undertaken by the Sixth Geological Team of Guangxi. The project commenced its prospecting work in April 2011 and, after two extensions in 2011 and 2013, submitted its final report in June 2015. A total of 16 weathered-crust ion-adsorption-type rare-earth ore bodies were delineated, and a substantial reserve of industrial-grade rare-earth minerals was discovered, reaching the scale of an extra-large rare-earth deposit. The proven rare-earth mineral resources are sufficient to support the operation of a mining enterprise processing 2 million tons of ore per year for more than 100 years. This newly discovered rare-earth deposit will provide strong resource security for the development of China’s strategic emerging industries.

2. An iron-gold coexisting ore deposit has been discovered in Laiwu, Shandong.

The No. 1 Geological and Mineral Exploration Institute of the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources has newly discovered a coexisting iron-gold deposit in the Gangcheng District of Laiwu City, with gold reserves reaching a medium-sized scale. This deposit is of the skarn type and represents an important new discovery in the densely mineralized iron-rich ore belt of western Shandong.

△ Geological technicians from the No. 1 Geological Exploration Institute of Shandong Province are cataloging rock and mineral cores from the Laiwu Iron and Gold Mine.

The mining area is located in the hilly region in the southeastern part of the Laiwu Basin. The ore deposit is hosted near lithic clasts within biotite diorite. The deposit contains only one ore body, which exhibits relatively stable occurrence characteristics. The ore body has a strike length of 587 meters, a maximum vertical depth of 216 meters, and an average thickness of 4.65 meters. The primary mineral resource is gold, with proven gold reserves totaling 6.94 tons and an average grade of 4.54 grams per ton. Coexisting iron ore amounts to 581,000 tons. Additionally, there are associated silver and sulfur deposits.

Dr. Song Mingchun, a Taishan Scholar at the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, said: “The discovery of skarn-type iron-gold deposits in Laiwu is of landmark significance for guiding the exploration of new types of gold deposits in Shandong, particularly in the western part of the province. It has opened up a new direction for comprehensive exploration and evaluation of iron, gold, copper, cobalt, and other mineral resources in the iron-rich mining areas of western Shandong.”

3. A large fluorite deposit has been discovered in Henan Province, ranking third in the nation’s reserves.

We learned from the No. 1 Geological Exploration Institute of the Henan Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources that the “Production Exploration Project for Integrated Fluorite Mine Resources in Song County, Henan Province,” undertaken by the institute, has discovered one large-scale, one medium-scale, and one small-scale fluorite deposit. The project has confirmed fluorite reserves totaling 3.8 million tons. Among these, the Zhongxing mining area boasts the largest resource reserves in the province and ranks third nationwide as a single, high-grade fluorite deposit.

This integrated resource exploration project covers three mining areas: Zhongxing, Zhuyuangou, and Xiaoshigou. After more than three years of effort by the technical staff of the First Institute of Geological Exploration, they have submitted a total of 3.8059 million tons of fluorite ore and 2.1716 million tons of calcium fluoride mineral. Among these, the Zhongxing mining area contributed 2.0324 million tons of fluorite ore and 1.2970 million tons of calcium fluoride mineral.

According to reports, the First Institute of Geological Exploration has adopted a collaborative exploration and mineral discovery model. The fluorite reserves it has identified are primarily located at the margins and in the deeper parts of the original ore deposits. Its exploration results serve as a valuable example for deepening exploration and uncovering hidden mineral resources in older mines.

4. Shandong Discovers the Largest Gold Mine Ever Found

Shandong Province has recently discovered a world-class, giant single gold deposit! The deposit currently has 382.58 tons of registered gold metal reserves, and it is estimated that upon completion of exploration, the total recoverable gold resources could exceed 550 tons. If operated at a production rate of 10,000 tons per day, the mine could sustain full-capacity production for 40 consecutive years. Its potential economic value could surpass 150 billion yuan, making it the largest single gold deposit ever recorded in China’s gold mining history.

On March 28, Shandong Gold Group held a press conference in Beijing to announce the exploration results of the Xiling gold mine in the Sanshandao mining area, making this information publicly available to the public.

According to Shandong Gold Group, the deposit has been named the “Xiling Gold Mine in the Sanshandao Mining Area.” The ore body extends for over 2,000 meters in strike length, with a local thickness of up to 67 meters in certain sections. To date, the proven gold reserves amount to 382.58 tons, with an average grade of 4.52 grams per ton.

5. A massive graphite deposit has been discovered in Heilongjiang, with proven reserves of 35 million tons.

According to official sources from the Linkou Forestry Bureau in Heilongjiang Province, after more than six months of exploration, a massive graphite deposit has been discovered within the operating area of the Xibeileng Management Station of the Linkou Forestry Bureau. Currently, the total proven graphite reserves exceed 35 million tons, with 25 million tons located within the Xibeileng Management Station’s operating area and over 10 million tons within Sanhe Village, Linkou County.

Data analysis shows that the graphite deposits within the forestry bureau’s operational area in Linkou can be divided into five ore belts comprising 56 ore bodies. The highest fixed-carbon grade in the samples reached 21.54%, with an average grade of 7.04%. Such high-grade, ultra-large-scale resource reserves are still rare, both domestically and globally.

Ouyang Rongjing, an exploration expert from the No. 6 Geological Exploration Institute of Heilongjiang Province, has given a highly favorable assessment of the graphite mineral resources discovered within the operating area of the Linkou Forestry Bureau. He stated that the northwest Leng graphite deposit boasts excellent ore body quality and grade, with an enormous ore body size, simple geological structure, and abundant reserves—resources that are extremely rare nationwide and remarkably easy to develop. This is one of the few graphite resources in China’s state-owned forest areas capable of undergoing deep processing across the entire graphite industry chain. Not only will this significantly alter the distribution pattern of graphite resources in our province, but it could even directly impact the national landscape of graphite resources.

6. A calcite deposit has been discovered in Hunan, with reserves expected to reach 20 million tons.

Recently, Team 418 of the Hunan Provincial Bureau of Geological Exploration, after nearly a year of geological exploration work, discovered a sizable calcite deposit within Lianyuan County, Loudi City. Currently, the estimated ore reserves exceed 5 million tons. With continued exploration efforts, it is anticipated that the resource reserves could reach over 20 million tons, bringing the deposit to large-scale classification.

This project is a mineral exploration and mining rights fee project assigned by the Provincial Department of Land and Resources in 2016. In April 2016, Team 418 of the Provincial Geological Exploration Bureau dispatched a project team to carry out comprehensive detailed exploration work on this project. Through geological mapping, pit surveys, trench explorations, and borehole drilling, we have basically identified the stratigraphic characteristics of the area and roughly delineated the features of the calcite veins within the region, achieving significant geological exploration results. Two new calcite veins have been discovered in the area: Vein No. 1 has been traced along its surface for approximately 2.50 kilometers, with an average thickness of 4.53 meters. Currently, the maximum inclined extension controlled reaches 110 meters, and the ore-bearing thickness ranges from 0.06 to 9.58 meters. Vein No. 2 has been traced along its surface for about 4.30 kilometers, with an average thickness of 8.55 meters. Both veins are controlled by faults; their orebody morphology is simple, exhibiting a vein-like shape with relatively stable thickness and uniform mineralization, and they show no signs of post-mineralization structural disruption. The calcite is predominantly white, semi-transparent, with distinct vitreous luster, and its three-directional cleavage is clearly visible. The calcium oxide grade ranges from 54.75% to 55.95%, averaging 55.58%, while the whiteness ranges from 87.40% to 98.00%, averaging 95.06%. The ore quality is excellent, essentially classified as Grade I. The genesis of this ore deposit is attributed to a low-temperature hydrothermal filling-type deposit.