The Ministry of Land and Resources supports the western region to intensify efforts in prospecting, developing and utilizing advantageous mineral resources including petrol, natural gas, and coal resources, build advantageous mineral economy, speed up the development of nonferrous metals, key building materials, and non metal mineral resources with obvious advantages, gradually increase product processing depth. At the Meeting of Chief Persons of Provinces and Autonomous Regions of the Yellow River Economic Cooperation Zone held recently, Pan Wenchan, inspector of the Planning Department of the Ministry of Land and Resources, expressed the above views.

Pan Wenchan said that the Ministry will strengthen management of national planned mining zones and key ore fields, and ensure rational deployment of newly established mining rights. Through rectification and acceptance of exploration rights and mining rights, follow laws and regulations to shut down small mines lacking proper mining conditions. Adopt union, merger, upgrading, and improvement methods, achieve scaled exploitation and scientific exploitation corresponding to resource reserve. At present, group-occurring illegal exploitation, and license-less exploitation of mineral resources have been kept under effective control.

According to Pan Wenchan, in 2004 the Ministry of Land and Resources arranged a total of 725 mineral resource survey projects in western regions, allocated 654 million yuan as expense, and received satisfactory results. Wherein, at the tungsten and tin metallogenic belt in Xinjiang Aerjin region, surveyors discovered 11 ore bodies with industrial value, which will very likely become another tungsten tin resource prospecting and development base in China following Nanling tungsten and tin metallogenic belt. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land and Resources carried out continual rectification and regulation on mining development to ensure orderly development. In 2004, in addition to distributing special documents to prescribe relevant rules, the Ministry of Land and Resources also organized 4 survey teams to survey large and medium sized coal ore fields as key coal-producing spots in western region, on such basis it drafted industry acceptance criteria.

At the meeting, Isma'ilTiliwaldi, Chairman of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Government, also indicated that Xinjiang will speed up the pace of prospecting and developing advantageous mineral resources, open up exploration right and mining right market, excluding individual mine varieties explicitly restricted by the state government, all others would open uniformly. Meanwhile, it encourages the participation of domestic and overseas enterprises, whoever makes investment in prospecting and development will reap benefits, and can transfer at a price according to law.