China’s mining industry is one of the supporting pillars in its industrial sector, boasting more than 200 actively explored or mined mineral types as of 2022. While the national economy and exports do not heavily depend on mining, this industry is crucial for certain subnational governments, particularly in mineral-rich regions such as Shanxi, Jiangxi, Henan, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang. The industry's evolution reflects China's broader economic and policy shifts, offering valuable insights into its current trends and future trajectory.
China's approach to mining has undergone serious transformations over the decades. During the Mao Zedong era, the industry was dominated by state-owned enterprises, with private exploration largely prohibited. The 1980s marked the start of economic reforms, which opened the sector to private enterprises and introduced market dynamics. By the 1990s, this shift accelerated, and the early 2000s to 2012 became known as the golden decade for mining, characterized by rapid growth and resource exploitation. Concerns over resource utilization, workplace safety, and environmental sustainability prompted the government to consolidate the sector in the mid-2000s. State-owned enterprises absorbed smaller, private mines, which led to the creation of a more centralized and regulated industry. Today, mining rights remain tightly controlled.
China, based on its size, possesses one of the most diverse mineral portfolios anywhere in the world. There are nonfuel metals, nonmetal minerals, coal, oil and natural gas. Mega mining sites such as the Baiyin silver mine, Tongling and Dexing copper mines, Dachang tin mine, and Jinchuan nickel and cobalt mine are vital to the country's production capacity. These large-scale operations coexist with thousands of medium-sized mines and tens of thousands of smaller ones, highlighting the sector's extensive reach. However, mineral distribution is uneven and this creates disparities in regional economic reliance. For instance, while some provinces heavily depend on mining for their local economies, others play a more diversified industrial role.