2016 marked the beginning of the 13th Five-Year Plan and was also a year of vigorous advancement in supply-side structural reform. Under the macroeconomic regulation and policy guidance of the government, China’s economic situation remained stable and showed signs of improvement, and green development began to yield initial results. Geological exploration agencies not only shoulder the heavy responsibility of providing foundational support for economic and social development but also face serious challenges in their own reform and development. Guided by the principle of balancing resource utilization with environmental protection, the geological exploration sector has taken supply-side structural reform as its main focus, comprehensively integrating reform and development strategies with social responsibilities. As a result, the scope of technical services has greatly expanded, and the sector’s professionalism has become even more prominent, laying a solid foundation for achieving the reform and development goals set forth in the 13th Five-Year Plan.

Policy guidance, with clearer direction.

We are currently experiencing a downturn in the mining industry. However, from a long-term perspective, it is crucial not to relax our efforts to ensure the supply of strategic mineral resources. Demand for bulk mineral commodities remains robust, and at the same time, there is a growing emphasis on meeting environmental and ecological requirements. Governments at all levels are taking measures—including issuing relevant policies—to guide the industry, thereby enhancing the adaptability and flexibility of the supply structure in response to changing demand patterns.

The “13th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China (2016–2020)” sets forth higher requirements for various sectors in areas including energy structure reform, water security assurance, comprehensive resource utilization, integrated environmental governance, ecological protection and restoration, marine resource conservation, control of greenhouse gas emissions, poverty alleviation, and disaster prevention and mitigation. The “13th Five-Year Plan for Land and Resources” explicitly identifies six major goals: significantly enhanced capacity to ensure land and resource security, markedly improved effectiveness of land and resource services in improving people’s livelihoods and supporting ecological construction, thereby setting the overall tone for land and resource work during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. The State Council has issued the “Action Plan for Soil Pollution Prevention and Control,” which clearly defines the plan’s general requirements, operational objectives, and key indicators—including 10 specific measures comprising a total of 35 tasks, such as “conducting soil pollution surveys to gain a comprehensive understanding of soil environmental quality.” The Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the National Energy Administration jointly released the “Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Restoration and Comprehensive Management of Geological Environments in Mining Areas,” emphasizing efforts to refine economic mechanisms for development compensation and protection, establish new mechanisms for protection and management involving joint participation by government, enterprises, and society, and promptly create a new situation in which both ongoing and operating mines, as well as historically accumulated “old and new issues,” are comprehensively addressed through coordinated restoration and management efforts.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has released the “2016 Application Guidelines for the Key Special Project ‘Deep-Earth Resource Exploration and Mining’.” The “13th Five-Year National Plan for Scientific and Technological Innovation,” issued by the State Council, also sets forth the goal of focusing on research into deep-earth resource exploration theories, technologies, and equipment. As shallow mineral resources gradually deplete, deep-earth resource extraction is increasingly becoming the new normal in resource development. Strengthening related basic theoretical research and enhancing the level of engineering practice pose significant challenges.

In addition to policies issued at the national and ministerial levels, some provinces have also made policy adjustments tailored to their own specific circumstances, thereby advancing supply-side structural reform. For example, the Shanxi Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Planning has formulated the “Implementation Rules for Strictly Controlling the Allocation of Coal Resource Quotas,” which clearly stipulates: the suspension of public auctions and negotiated transfers of coal mining rights; the suspension of approvals for converting coal exploration rights into mining rights (including delineating mining area boundaries); and an increased level of support for coalbed methane development.

Under the new normal of the economy, top-level design serves as a “navigator,” guiding land and resource work to support economic and social development. Geological exploration agencies have effectively demonstrated their crucial technical role in project acquisition and implementation, as well as in industrial restructuring, thereby promoting the sustained and healthy development of the geological exploration sector.

Focus on breakthroughs for stronger development.

Reform and development require both comprehensive coordination and targeted breakthroughs that highlight distinctive features. Leveraging regional advantages and local needs, concentrating superior resources on what each locality does best—this is a promising approach currently being adopted by mining bureaus and their affiliated geological exploration units across various regions as they pursue reform and development.

Guizhou has implemented supply-side structural reforms and is vigorously developing its tourism industry. However, since no specialized census has yet been conducted, the extent of its mountainous tourism resources remains unclear. The Guizhou Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources has submitted a proposal to the provincial government suggesting that a province-wide census of mountainous tourism resources be carried out at the county level. In 2016, Guizhou launched a comprehensive census of tourism resources, with the geoscience-based census of mountainous tourism resources primarily undertaken by the Guizhou Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, involving all 17 geological exploration units under its jurisdiction. Faced with the entry of economic development into a “new normal,” the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, based on Fujian’s specific provincial conditions, is actively promoting strategic initiatives for breakthroughs in mineral exploration while placing broad-scope geological work prominently as its core business. This approach aims to drive and facilitate a shift in the mode of geological work development and the adjustment of the geological industry structure, thereby better serving Fujian’s efforts to build a leading demonstration zone for ecological civilization and to create a “New Fujian.” The supply-side structural reform goals of “reducing capacity, deleveraging, destocking, lowering costs, and补短板” will gradually be realized through this approach of optimizing industrial structure and highlighting key areas of development.

Concentrating superior resources to achieve specialized development also helps in the establishment of high-quality brands. Under the new normal of the economy, leveraging the leading role of brands is of great significance for promoting the upgrading of both supply and demand structures. In 2016, the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Geological and Mineral Exploration signed a strategic cooperation agreement on engineering geological exploration with Alibaba (China) Co., Ltd., officially becoming a strategic partner of Alibaba Group. According to the agreement, during the period from 2015 to 2017, all engineering geological exploration services for construction projects undertaken by Alibaba Group and its affiliates in the Hangzhou area were exclusively handled by the Institute of Geological and Mineral Exploration. The Institute provided services including geological hazard assessments during the site-selection phase of construction projects, consulting services for pile foundation and excavation design, as well as technical consulting for projects located outside the province.

Brand awareness has long been deeply rooted in the fertile ground of geological and mining culture. The Shanxi Geological Exploration Bureau is deliberating on consolidating its entire fleet of rotary drilling rigs, exploring a path toward group-based development, and turning fragmented resources into a cohesive whole—this approach, aimed at enhancing competitiveness, is indeed a worthwhile endeavor.

Based on responsibility, reform is steadily advancing.

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the fundamental goal of supply-side reform is to enhance the level of social productivity and effectively implement the development philosophy centered on the people. This holds great guiding significance for the reform and development of the geological exploration industry. The classified reform of geological exploration agencies has been underway for many years, but due to various challenges, progress has been uneven and economic levels vary considerably. Nevertheless, regardless of the specific operating and development model adopted, geological exploration work remains closely linked to fulfilling social responsibilities and continues to be firmly grounded in serving economic and social development and improving the quality of life for the general public.

The Fujian Provincial Department of Agriculture has issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Selenium-Rich Agricultural Industries," clearly stating the need to transform resource potential into industrial advantages and accelerate the development of selenium-rich agriculture. The department has also identified the first batch of 10 provincial-level key counties for selenium-rich agricultural industry development, with an ambitious goal of establishing 100 standardized production demonstration bases for selenium-rich rice, vegetables, fruits, and tea—each covering at least 1,000 mu—across the province by 2020. This marks the initial success in promoting and applying the findings from agricultural geological survey projects, including multi-target regional geochemical surveys conducted by the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources with support from the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and the Provincial Department of Finance. According to experts from the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, the province has cumulatively identified approximately 23,000 square kilometers of selenium-rich land resources. Moreover, most of the province’s 23 key counties designated for poverty alleviation and development are located in selenium-rich areas, greatly supporting the crucial task outlined in Fujian Province’s “13th Five-Year Plan” for Land and Resource Development and Utilization—namely, “deepening agricultural geology work.” During the implementation of these geological surveys, the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, with the support of relevant provincial departments, has actively promoted the application of selenium-rich land resource survey results in the local development of specialty modern agriculture.

The new normal has placed new demands on geological work. Investment in mineral exploration has declined somewhat and is shifting toward new energy sources, new types of minerals, and new materials. Meanwhile, areas such as basic geology, hydrogeological and environmental geology, tourism geology, agricultural geology, water resource investigation and protection, environmental remediation, large-scale engineering projects, urban development, land consolidation, geological hazard early warning and prevention, geological and ecological environment monitoring and protection, and marine geological surveys and exploration are emerging as new growth drivers for the geological exploration industry. Clearly, the geological exploration industry bears significant social responsibilities and has numerous avenues for future development.

Guiding the creation of new demand through new supply is one of the key principles of supply-side structural reform and can be applied to the reform of geological exploration units. Historically, whether engaged in mineral exploration or market expansion, geological exploration units have primarily provided technical services to governments and enterprises, making them highly susceptible to market fluctuations. To enhance the sustainable development capacity of these teams, reform must be both comprehensive and focused, closely aligned with market demands, and strive to minimize homogeneous competition among local units. The source-control integrated sludge treatment device, foamed ceramic insulation boards, and other tailings-based products—such as non-fired bricks made from river and lake sediments—that were showcased at the 2016 Silk Road International Expo and the 20th China East-West Cooperation and Investment Trade Fair herald a bright future for the geological exploration industry in expanding into new environmental protection fields. Meanwhile, underground pipeline inspection robots highlight the remarkable potential of modern technology in smart cities and digital urban development. The research and development of these distinctive, highly practical products based on geological technologies—and the application of specialized techniques—represent a promising approach in the transformation and upgrading of the geological exploration sector.

2017 was a year of deepening supply-side structural reform. We hope that the geological exploration industry will adapt to and effectively apply the principles of supply-side reform, optimize its industrial structure starting from the new supply-side economic cycle, steadily advance the reform process, and achieve sustainable development.