Mineral-rich Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, revealed Friday its mining output contributed 28.84 billion yuan (US$3.51 billion) in output to the local industrial output value in 2001, or about 26.6 percent of the region's total.

A total of 138 types of mineral resources have been discovered in Xinjiang in about 400 mining areas.

The Chinese central government and the Xinjiang regional government have invested heavily in prospecting for mineral resources in the past several years.

Song Zhiqi, chief engineer of the Xinjiang Geological and Mineral Institute, said Xinjiang is rich in oil, natural gas, iron, copper, potassium and salt.

He said it is necessary for China to step up efforts to explore and mine the mineral resources in the region to keep up with demand for mineral resources.

China has become the second biggest consumer and third biggest importer of mineral resources, he said.