Geological Prospecting of Nonferrous Metals in China: Actuality and Outlook

摘要

Thanks to the great contribution of nonferrous metals, metallurgy and geology survey teams in the past 50 years, China has been successively listed the No. one producer of nonferrous metals in the world since 2002. The reserves and production of nonferrous metals in common-use commodities come out top in the world while the reserve, production and market shares of special mineral commodities also listed the No. one. Moreover, the proven reserves and outputs of precious metals increased greatly. Nevertheless, China is facing some problems, such as, shortage in the total resources (esp. copper and aluminium) and low in possession per capita of nonferrous metal proven reserves. Based on reviews of historical achievements and analysis of present situation, this article gives an outlook for geological survey of the nonferrous metals in the new century and hopefully could promote the sustaining development of nonferrous metal industry in China.