A rare-earth mining site File photo: VCG

China has further consolidated its position as a major global holder of strategic mineral resources, ranking first in the world for reserves of 14 minerals, including rare earths, tungsten, tin and molybdenum. It also ranked among the global top four for another nine minerals by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), according to a report released on Friday.

The findings were unveiled as China's Ministry of Natural Resources released the China Mineral Resources Report 2026 and the Global Mining Development Report 2026 at the 2026 China Mining Conference and Exhibition, according to CCTV News.

The report showed that by the end of 2025, China ranked first globally in reserves of 14 minerals, including rare earths, tungsten, tin, molybdenum, antimony, gallium, germanium, indium, fluorite and graphite. Its reserves of another nine minerals - including coal, iron, manganese, titanium, lithium, zinc, phosphorus and magnesite - put it among the world's top four.

There has also been continued progress in mineral exploration. China's geological exploration investment rose for a fifth consecutive year in 2025, while oil and gas exploration continued to make breakthroughs both onshore and offshore. A total of 200 non-oil and gas mineral deposits were newly discovered nationwide last year.

Among the minerals with the largest number of newly discovered deposits were gold, with 16, followed by iron ore with 11, coal with nine, and manganese and lithium with eight each.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China discovered 398 large and medium-sized strategic mineral deposits, including 225 oil and gas fields. Newly proven oil and gas reserves remained at high levels, while major discoveries were also made in copper, gold and potash. Exploration of emerging strategic minerals such as lithium, helium and high-purity quartz also advanced significantly, according to the report.

For non-oil and gas minerals, major exploration breakthroughs at the Bayan Obo mining area in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Maoniuping mining area in Southwest China's Sichuan Province significantly increased China's rare-earth resources, further strengthening its leading global position in the sector.

China also unveiled its AI-OreSeeking system to a global audience for the first time at Friday's mining conference. Designed to provide a one-stop solution for mineral-resource prediction and assessment, the system marks a shift from experience-driven to intelligence-driven prospecting, according to media reports. It can boost prospecting efficiency by more than 60 percent compared with traditional manual processing. 

China's mineral output also expanded in 2025, with production of 10 major nonferrous metals continuing to rise and output of coal, crude oil and natural gas maintaining growth, said Yan Weidong, deputy director of the Information Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources. China's energy consumption mix also continued to improve, he added.

The report said the global mining industry is entering a period of profound transformation, driven by the energy transition, supply-chain volatility and other shifts, with security considerations increasingly shaping the sector, technological advances reshaping mining and governance rules being reconfigured.

Against that backdrop, China remains committed to openness, cooperation and mutual benefit and has continued to deepen cross-border mining cooperation. Technologies and equipment including autonomous mining trucks, large AI models for mining and tailings recycling are contributing Chinese solutions to the green and intelligent transformation of the global mining industry, the report said.

At the 20th G20 Leaders' Summit in 2025, the Initiative for International Economic and Trade Cooperation on Green Mining and Minerals - jointly proposed by China and other countries including South Africa - received support from more than 30 countries and international organizations, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

For more than two decades, China has carried out foreign-aid geological survey projects in multiple countries. It has also organized more than 310 training programs and trained over 8,600 people from more than 140 countries, helping to build a valuable pool of local expertise, according to the ministry.

Global Times