By the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), China’s mineral resource reserves had increased significantly, with 14 minerals ranking first in the world. These include rare earths, tungsten, tin, molybdenum, antimony, gallium, germanium, indium, fluorite and graphite.

The scale of China’s mineral production and metallurgical processing also led the world, with its position in the industrial chain continuing to strengthen. Last year, the national mining industry output value was about 32.7 trillion yuan ($4.8 trillion), accounting for 23 percent of GDP.

In mineral production, China ranked first in output of 17 mineral types, including coal, vanadium, titanium, zinc, rare earths, tungsten, tin, molybdenum, antimony, gallium, indium, gold, tellurium, phosphorus, fluorite and graphite. Among these, output of 11 minerals — such as rare earths, tungsten, antimony, gallium, indium and tellurium — accounted for more than half of the global total.

Additionally, China led the world in output of more than 30 metallurgical products, with 17 types accounting for about half of global production, including manganese, rare earths, aluminum, steel and copper.