Potential Economic Value Exceeds Trillion Yuan, Large-Scale Deposits Announced! Top 10 Major Results of 2022 Geological Search Announced

The mining industry was also deeply affected by the epidemic emanating from many places, the real estate slump and the difficult economic downturn in 2022. In a letter of reply from General Secretary Xi Jinping to all geologists of the Sixth Geological Brigade of Shandong Province Geological and Mining Bureau, which rekindled the enthusiasm of mining industry people across the country to find mines, what kind of answer sheet will be delivered to the people of the country with the efforts of many geologists? Recently, the official website of the Chinese Geological Society announced the selection results of the major achievements in geological prospecting for 2022.

I. High-grade and high-quality large-scale iron ore deposits found in Baijian area, Shahe City, Hebei Province

The Ninth Geological Brigade of the Hebei Geological and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau has discovered a high-grade large-scale iron ore deposit in Baijian, Shahe City, which is the largest smectite iron ore deposit ever discovered in Hebei Province and one of the few high-grade unexplored iron ore deposits in China. The Ninth Geological Brigade's technicians have continuously innovated the theory and method of finding iron ore in the Hand Xing style, and have refined and summarised the "five-in-one" method of finding iron ore, which has effectively guided the search for iron ore in the depths and periphery of the Hand Xing style. The project submitted 104,427,000 tonnes of proven + controlled + inferred iron ore resources with an average grade of 48.02% total iron (TFe), 44.15% magnetic iron (mFe) and 4412.8 tonnes of magnetite associated cobalt, with a potential economic value of over RMB 100 billion. The iron ore can be used as raw material for refined steel and high-quality steel. The economic and social benefits arising from its development and utilization are of great significance to the local economic development and the security of national energy resources.

II. Significant breakthrough in the search for heavy rare earth ore in Shi Ping, Anyuan County, Jiangxi Province

The team, led by Wang Xianguang from the Jiangxi Mineral Resources Security Service Centre, has detected a super-large weathered crust ionic heavy rare earth deposit after five years of comprehensive exploration in the area where the South Ridge and Wuyi Mountain tungsten-tin rare earth polymetallic mineralisation zones meet in southern Jiangxi. A total of seven heavy rare earth sections were circled in the mine area, of which XX.XX million tons of inferred full-phase heavy rare earth resources with an average grade of 0.088% and XX.XX million tons of leached-phase heavy rare earth resources with a grade of 0.060% were detected in the root-back section in 2022; a "five elements in one" model for ionic rare earths and a "geological survey + weathering crust" model were constructed. The "geological survey + weathering crust trapping + Gannan drilling + shallow drilling + rapid field analysis + experimental testing" is a green, efficient and economical exploration method for ionic rare earths, which is of universal significance to the exploration and evaluation of ionic heavy rare earth deposits. The results of the survey have been applied to other sections such as Xinfeng in the Shishiping mining area and Xunwu County and Gan County in the Nanling area, and a number of large scale heavy rare earths have been found in Xiahu and other areas with significant results. 

3,A major breakthrough in silver polymetallic exploration in Erdaokan Village, Nengjiang City, Heilongjiang Province

The Heilongjiang Natural Resources Survey Institute and the Heilongjiang Geophysical and Geochemical Survey Institute have made a major breakthrough in the exploration for silver polymetallic ores in Erdokan Village, Nengjiang City, submitting a total of 1,777 tonnes of silver metal with an average grade of 431.10 g/t. The size of the silver ore is large and the manganese ore is medium. The silver polymetallic ore body is hosted in marine sedimentary rocks of the Upper Silurian-Middle Devonian Neihuohe Formation, closely syngenetic with gabbroic veins, with moderately acidic sub-volcanic rocks, and the ore is a tectonic breccia cemented by quartz veins. This deposit is the first large independent silver deposit in Heilongjiang Province, filling the gap of independent silver ore in Heilongjiang Province, and is the largest deposit in the national silver ore search during the 13th Five-Year Plan. Through the ore processing and metallurgy technology performance and economic overview study, it is believed that after the mine is put into operation, the average annual profit is about 340 million yuan, which can serve nearly 12 years, and the average annual income tax paid is about 84 million yuan, which will greatly improve the local financial revenue and effectively drive the regional GDP.

4. Innovation in ore search technology and major breakthrough in ore search for the super-large gold deposit in Dayingzhuang, Jiaodong

The Sixth Geological Brigade of Shandong Geological and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau and Zhaoguang Mining Co., Ltd. jointly detected the largest gold resource of over 100 tons in the middle section of the Zhaoping Fracture Zone. The project clarified the output pattern of the ore body and solved the problem of what location is conducive to ore formation; proposed a new method for finding ore by segmentation and enrichment, solving the problem of where to find ore; proposed a quantitative prediction method for the trend extrapolation + body ore content, solving the problem of how much resources are available at depth. It has achieved a major breakthrough in ore search, extended the service life of the mine, helped the Zhaoping metallogenic belt to become a 1,000-ton gold belt, enriched and improved the gold metallogenic theory in the Jiaodong region, and played a positive role in promoting the gold metallogenic law and ore formation prediction in the region, which will play a leading role in the new round of strategic action of ore search and breakthrough, and drive the region to make new breakthroughs in ore search, and provide a new base for building a "10,000-ton" gold industry. The project will play a leading and exemplary role in the new round of strategic action to find and breakthrough in ore, drive new breakthroughs in regional ore search, provide favorable support for building a 10,000-ton gold industry base in Shandong, China, and make significant contributions to the security of national energy resources.

5. Large fluorspar mine discovered in Cilimiao mine, Siziwangqi, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Inner Mongolia Geological Exploration Co., Ltd. has identified a large fluorspar deposit in the Cilimiao mining area of Siziwang Banner, with a total identified fluorspar ore volume of 8,493,000 tonnes and mineral volume of 4,681,000 tonnes, with an average grade of 55.12% CaF2. Manganese ore volume was 102,800 tonnes with an average grade of 21.95% Mn. The fluorite ore body is produced in the crystalline tuff of the Dashi Zhai Formation II section of the Middle Permian and is strictly controlled by carbonate rock stratigraphy and interstratigraphic structure, and is a stratigraphically controlled (modified) type of stratiform fluorite deposit in carbonate rocks. The discovery of this deposit has, to a certain extent, changed the status quo of the small proportion and scale of stratified fluorite ore in China, making a positive contribution to the security of national strategic mineral resources, driving local economic development, showing a good prospect for fluorite prospecting in the area, and playing a role as a model and guide for exploration.

6,Ultra-large graphite ore was found in the area of Tullahai River in Golmud, Qinghai

The first super-large scale crystalline graphite deposit in Qinghai was detected by the Qinghai Geological Survey in the area of Tullahai River in Golmud City, with an inferred graphite mineral resource of 16,564,900 tonnes, with an average grade of 4.86% fixed carbon and 91.14% +100 mesh large scale graphite, achieving a major breakthrough in graphite prospecting in the shallow coverage area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The deposit is hosted in the gneiss and dacite of the Jinshukou Group in the Lower Palaeogene, and is a layer-controlled regional metamorphic graphite deposit. The ore is of excellent selectivity, with a recovery rate of 96% or more and a fixed carbon grade of 95.26% or more in concentrate, which meets the quality standard of high carbon graphite and has high economic value.

7. Largest hidden monolithic phosphorus-rich deposit in Asia discovered in Zhenxiong, Yunnan

The Yunnan Geological Survey Institute (YGSI) has made a major breakthrough in the search for deep-seated phosphate ores by discovering the largest occulted monolithic phosphorus-rich deposit in Asia, the Yangchang Super Large Phosphate Deposit, in the Zhenxiong area. The Yangchang phosphate deposit is a shallow marine sedimentary phosphate massive deposit in the Lower Cambrian, characterised by "large reserves, high quality ore and concentrated resource distribution". The inferred resource of phosphate ore is 1,197 million tonnes, with 51.87% of Grade I+II, and the potential resource of phosphate ore at depth and periphery is predicted to be over 10 billion tonnes, with a potential economic value of over RMB 1 trillion. The discovery and evaluation of the deposit provides a solid resource base for Yunnan Province to build a 100-billion-dollar nationally important phosphorus chemical industry base, and provides a resource guarantee for national energy resource security and food security.

8,Over 600 million tonnes of oil discovered in the Permian Fengcheng Formation in the Mahu Depression of the Junggar Basin

For the first time, PetroChina Xinjiang Oilfield Branch made a major discovery in the ancient alkali lake hydrocarbon source formation of the Permian Fengcheng Formation in the Mahu Depression of the Junggar Basin, adding 656 million tonnes of tertiary petroleum geological reserves and opening up a new field of basin-scale exploration. The results have established an innovative lower limit sequence for the pore throat structure of all types of reservoirs in the Fengcheng Formation, revealing the full-scale reservoir formation mechanism of conventional and unconventional oil reservoirs; and established a "source-storage coupling" based on the orderly formation of conventional oil - tight oil - shale oil. The results have established a "source-storage coupling" based on the formation model of conventional oil - tight oil - shale oil in an orderly manner, and implemented a 2500km2 exploration favorable zone; integrated and innovated a comprehensive exploration technology for all types of reservoirs, and increased the success rate of oil test layers in the Fengcheng Formation from 35% to 91%; guided the new discovery of extra-large unconventional oil reservoirs within 600 million tonne class sources. The results achieved the first successful exploration of a full oil and gas system in the world, enriching and developing the geological theory of oil and gas system, which is of great significance to safeguard national energy security, promote the implementation of the "Belt and Road" strategy and social stability in the Xinjiang region.

9,

The first deep shale gas field in a complex tectonic zone on the basin margin of China discovered in the Qijiang area

The deep shale gas exploration innovation team of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation Exploration Branch has discovered the first deep shale gas field in the complex tectonic zone of China's basin margin, the Qijiang shale gas field, and submitted the first phase of proven geological reserves of 145,968 million cubic metres of shale gas in the Dingshan District block, marking the birth of another large, fully assembled shale gas field of over 100 billion cubic metres in China. The project has discovered the development mechanism of "highly porous" high-quality reservoirs for deep shale gas, formed a new understanding of "overpressure and gas-rich", effectively broke through the "sweet spot" prediction technology and engineering It has achieved a major breakthrough in deep shale gas exploration, and the implementation of a trillion cubic meter gas-rich zone in the complex tectonic zone on the southeast Sichuan basin margin, laying the theoretical and technical foundation for the expansion of shale gas to ultra-deep depths greater than 4,500m. The discovery of the Qijiang shale gas field is of great significance to the national green and low-carbon development strategy, the achievement of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutral" emission reduction targets, and the protection of national energy security.

10. A major breakthrough in coal resource search in the Jiazhai-Tangjie coal mine area in Baofeng County, Henan Province

The Henan Provincial Land and Space Survey and Planning Institute has made a major breakthrough in coal prospecting in Jazhai-Tangjie coal mine in Baofeng County, identifying a total of 143,335,000 tonnes of coal resources, including 292,638,000 tonnes of proven resources, 627,087,000 tonnes of controlled resources and 513,627,000 tonnes of inferred resources. The project has identified in detail the stratigraphic sequence, lithology and physical characteristics of the strata in the survey area, and the coal-bearing strata are the Permian Shanxi Group and the Lower Shi Box Group, with 7 recoverable coal seams, mainly 1/3 coking coal, coking coal and fertilizer coal, and the coal quality is characterized by low ash, low sulphur and high calorific coal, with excellent coal quality, which is a good coking and power coal. The technical conditions of mining such as hydrogeology, engineering geology and environmental geology have been identified in detail. The project exploration results provide a reliable geological basis for the later exploration to mining, which is of great significance to the sustainable and stable development of the mining enterprise and provides a strong guarantee for the succession of resources for the construction of Henan coal energy base.

Source: Geological Society of China