The total size of China’s central and provincial level geological prospecting funds has reached 39.9 billion yuan, which effectively propelled social capital to make investment in mineral resources risk prospecting through cooperation,and reversed the previous pattern that China’s mining risk prospecting totally relied on investment by the state government.

According to the “Circular on the Status of Nationwide Geological Prospecting Funds (2013)”published by the Office of the Leading Group of Central Geological Prospecting Fund on June 26, by the end of 2012, the total size of China’s central and provincial level geological prospecting funds has reached 39.9 billion yuan, the actual investment was 35.039 billion yuan. Wherein, in 2012 nationwide geological prospecting funds invested a total of 7.27 billion yuan, accounting for 54.78% of national non-petroleum and gas mineral prospecting finance contribution in the current year, making it an important component of China’s finance capital contribution into mineral resources risk prospecting.

According to the Circular, compared with the same period in 2011, the overall size of the funds at two levels has grown by 20.9%, actual investment has grown by 30.53%. Investment has been made in a total of 5884 mineral prospecting projects, 741 ore fields were newly discovered, in which 386 are large sized, and 219 are medium sized, a batch of large achievements with extensive impact were developed,including Inner Mongolia Daying Uranium Mine, Xinjiang Pobei Nickel Mine, Hubei Yangjiazhai Lead-zinc Mine etc. In 2012, the funds at two levels continued to adhere to “l(fā)owering risks, policy regulation” positioning,and continued to focus projects and capital on high risk mineral early stage prospecting. The Central Geological Prospecting Fund newly added 19 mineral prospecting type projects throughout the whole year, together with follow-up projects it newly added a total prospecting investment of 470.2 million yuan; provincial level geological prospecting funds newly added 1467 mineral prospecting projects throughout the whole year, and newly added prospecting investment of 6.79941 billion yuan.

It has been learned that, while adhering to the“reducing risks, policy regulation” positioning and “not competing against the market to scramble for power, not competing against the society to scramble for profit”, funds at two levels have created the new situation of both finance capital and social capital making joint investment in risk prospecting, and reversed the previous pattern of totally relying on contribution by the state government in risk prospecting. From 2006 to 2012, the Central Geological Prospecting Fund invested in a total of 195 projects through cooperation, in which the percentage of social capital investment reached 31.59% of total cooperation investment; the 21 provincial level geological prospecting funds included in the summary made a total of 468 cooperation investment projects, the contribution of social capital accounts for 55.27% of cooperation investment amount. Wherein, newly added cooperation projects of the Central Geological Prospecting Fund in 2012 accounts for 84.2% of total newly added projects, the investment of cooperation projects accounts for 86.67% of total newly added investment in the current year.