RE: Wk in reviewChina to spend $4.5bn on domestic mineral exploration
Sun Nov 7, 7:14 AM
BEIJING (AFP) - China will spend 30 billion yuan (4.5 billiondollars) searching for domestic mineral deposits over the next fiveyears in an effort to lessen its reliance on imported products, statemedia said on Sunday.
The government will launch the explorationproject in 21 provinces, the official Xinhua news agency quoted WangMin, vice minister of land and resources, as saying.
Chinesescientists have already discovered more than 900 separate locations withmineral deposits over the past 12 years, the report said.
Five ofthese could hold five billion tonnes of iron ore, and up to 38.5million tonnes of copper ore reserves have been discovered in threedifferent areas of China.
"We believe China has great potentialfor mineral exploration" based on these discoveries, Wang was quoted assaying.
Over the next five years, China should import less than 75percent of its copper consumption and less than 50 percent of its ironore consumption, the report quoted Chen Renyi of the China GeologicalSurvey as saying.