Large copper ore belt found in southwest China ( 2003-08-03 11:57) (Xinhua)
Chinese geologists have found a rich copper belt with reserve estimated at
millions or tens of millions of tons in the basalt terrain in Yunnan Province,
southwest China.
Basalt terrain generally carries little metal mineral resources and it was
rare to find such a large copper mine in such ground, said Li Wenchang, a senior
engineer with the Yunnan provincial geological prospecting institute.
Before the new finding, China's largest basal-borne copper vein in Sichuan
Province, also in the southwest, contained just 100,000 tons of copper reserve.
Geologists in Yunnan have been prospecting since June last year and
pinpointed the mine in northwestern Yunnan, which extends to neighboring Sichuan
and Guizhou provinces.
China's Ministry of Land and Resources plans to input 3 million yuan
(US$360,000) in further prospecting of the basal terrain, while some
international mineral companies have shown interest in developing copper
resources there.
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