China is a major player in most commodities. In terms of scale and magnitude, China’s mining industry ranks third in the world, although production statistics are sketchy. Most of China’s mineral production is consumed locally by state owned enterprises or banks. The country has about 80,000 state-owned mining enterprises and 200 000 collectively owned mines.
Over the years, China has established a mining industry system with a complete range of departments including geology, production, construction, scientific research, design, equipment manufacture, management, education and training.
Several of China’s current mining operations are approaching ore reserve depletion, which has resulted in the need to locate and develop existing projects. This, coupled with a desire to encourage foreign investment in several sectors of the mining industry, makes China a highly prospective country.