China's mineral production has risen rapidly so far this year. Vice Minister of Land and Resources Wang Min unveiled on Nov. 15 at the 2005 China International Mining Conference in Beijing that from January to August China's foreign trade for mineral products jumped 33.9 percent over the same period of last year to 200.36 billion USD, with nearly 77 billion USD exports vs. 123.4 billion USD imports, surging 45.7 percent and 27.5 percent respectively.

Both oil imports and coal exports went down, iron ore imports continued to slow down, while copper sulphide concentrate and alumina imports increased steadily.

Over the first eight months of the year, China turned out 1.145 billion tons of crude coal, 121 million tons of crude oil and 31.89 billion cubic meter natural gas, up 9.9 percent, 4.5 percent and 19.9 percent over the same period of last year.

In addition, the 245 million tons and 211 million tons of iron ore and pig iron production represented a year-on-year surge of 30 percent and 31.9 percent respectively. The output of 10 types of non-ferrous metal rose by 16.5 percent to 10.15 million tons. Gold production reached 156.666 tons over the first nine months, 5.4 percent more than the same period of last year.

At present, more than 300 Chinese towns and cities rely on mining oriented economy. The mining industry contributes to more than 10 percent of local industrial production value in over 80 cities which spread in 25 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Meanwhile, a batch of large mining bases turned 426 remote towns into emerging economies.

The conference in Beijing is one of the four major meetings for the global mining industry. More than 900 officials and multinational mining giants from the World Bank, US, UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa attended the meeting and discussed with their 600 Chinese colleagues on the sustainable development of the mining industry. The two-day meeting also showcases the products and equipment of more than 100 foreign manufacturers and 50 Chinese makers.

By People's Daily Online