Inner Mongolia identifies proven reserves of 152 minerals to date
2025-12-25 15:27:29 [Print]
During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), Inner Mongolia advanced a new round of strategic mineral exploration to strengthen resource security. The region has now identified proven reserves of 152 types of minerals. Reserves of 20 minerals, including coal, rare earths, and fluorite, rank first in China, while another 55 minerals, such as molybdenum and crystalline graphite, rank among the top three nationwide.
The latest exploration drive has delivered major reserve additions, including about 20 billion tonnes of coal, 1.2 billion tonnes of iron ore, 300 million tonnes of fluorite, more than 17 million tonnes of crystalline graphite, over 600,000 tonnes of lithium, more than 500,000 tonnes of copper, over 100,000 tonnes of tin, and more than 300 tonnes of gold.
Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), Inner Mongolia will focus exploration on key regions such as the northern margin of the North China Craton and the central-southern Greater Khingan Range. Priority minerals include iron, copper, gold, rare earths, lithium, tin, zinc, niobium, tantalum, and germanium. The region also plans to further consolidate non-coal mines and expand capacity, aiming to raise the share of large and medium-sized non-coal mines to over 50% by 2030, while continuing to promote green mining, with 90% of large mines and 80% of medium-sized mines expected to meet green standards.
The latest exploration drive has delivered major reserve additions, including about 20 billion tonnes of coal, 1.2 billion tonnes of iron ore, 300 million tonnes of fluorite, more than 17 million tonnes of crystalline graphite, over 600,000 tonnes of lithium, more than 500,000 tonnes of copper, over 100,000 tonnes of tin, and more than 300 tonnes of gold.
Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), Inner Mongolia will focus exploration on key regions such as the northern margin of the North China Craton and the central-southern Greater Khingan Range. Priority minerals include iron, copper, gold, rare earths, lithium, tin, zinc, niobium, tantalum, and germanium. The region also plans to further consolidate non-coal mines and expand capacity, aiming to raise the share of large and medium-sized non-coal mines to over 50% by 2030, while continuing to promote green mining, with 90% of large mines and 80% of medium-sized mines expected to meet green standards.

