China discovers more coal, oil, uranium and lithium

China discovers more coal, oil, uranium and lithium

 Share

Chinese geologists have detected "super-thick" oil and gas-bearing stratums in the northern part of the South China Sea and identified 38 offshore oil and gas-bearing basins. The outskirts of Songliao Basin in Northeast China, Yin'e Basin in North China and Qiangtang Basin on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have also been found to have rich oil and gas resources.

192.7 billion tons of coal resources have been found in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. China will be using 3.2 to 4.2 billion tons of coal per year from now until 2015 So the new discovery would provide China with about 40 years of coal supply.

Four 10,000-ton sandstone-type uranium mines have been located in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. By 2020, China will be using about 20,000 tons of uranium per year using current once through reactors.



Comprehensive geological and environmental inspections will be conducted at key offshore areas such as the southern region of Yellow Sea, the northern part of the South China Sea, East China's Liaodong Bay and regions near South China's Hainan Island, according to the ministry.

Wang said the country has also made a breakthrough in locating new energy resources. Natural gas hydrate has been found for the first time in the northern region of the South China Sea and frozen-soil areas at Qilian Mountain.

And a 2.46-million-ton lithium carbonate mine has been located in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, which will reduce the cost of lithium production and help with the country's new energy industry.