China maps out mineral exploration priorities for 15th Five-Year Plan

The Ministry of Natural Resources held a video conference on Monday to mobilize and deploy mineral exploration efforts for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), outlining strategic priorities aimed at safeguarding national energy and resource security and maintaining the stability of industrial and supply chains.

The meeting said the 15th Five-Year Plan period will be a crucial stage for China to consolidate its foundations and advance efforts toward basically realizing socialist modernization.

The period also represents a vital window for achieving breakthroughs in a new round of strategic mineral exploration, the meeting noted, calling on relevant departments to build on previous achievements, intensify implementation efforts, secure resource supplies, and promote high-quality economic and social development.

The ministry called for strengthening basic geological surveys to identify and propose new prospecting targets and exploration blocks, while intensifying exploration of strategic minerals to boost reserves and production. It also pledged to advance the comprehensive utilization of mineral resources and unlock the value of deposits that are currently difficult to exploit.

On the policy front, officials stressed the need to improve the supply of high-quality policies. These measures are intended to protect both the State's rights as the owner of mineral resources and the legitimate interests of mining rights holders.

The meeting identified technological innovation as a key driver in developing new quality productive forces in the exploration sector. It also called for expanding green exploration methods and green mine construction to minimize the environmental impact of survey and development activities.

The push builds on the results achieved during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), when China discovered 398 large and medium-sized strategic mineral deposits, including 225 oil and gas fields.

By 2025, China held the world's largest reserves of 14 mineral types, including rare earths, tungsten, tin, molybdenum, antimony, gallium, germanium, indium, fluorite and graphite, and ranked first globally in the production of 17 minerals.