World mining industry shows good prospects

In spite of the uncertainty of the world's economy recovery, the mining industry is now showing good development potential, said a senior official with China's Ministry of Land and Resources in Tianjin municipality on Sunday. It is expected that in 2011 the global investment on mining exploration for the non-fuel solid minerals will reach 13 to 14 billion U.S. dollars, which shows global mining is back to the healthy development track, said Wang Min, vice minister of land and resources. Wang made the remarks on the 13th China Mining Congress & Expo, which is being held from Nov. 6 to 8 in Tianjin. Global petroleum demand is now growing at the speed of one percent per year, and some institutions predict that the demand in 2011 will exceed the previous years, Wang said. In 2011, the world's demands on the copper and aluminum are expected to increase by 5 and 8 percent, respectively, and gold production is expected to increase by 5 percent. Developed countries are also starting their strategic layout on the new resources for the new materials, which extends the research on mineral raw material for the new-tech, Wang said. In the first half of 2011, 1,379 mergers and acquisitions took place in the global mining industry, with the trading volume at a record-high of 71 billion U.S. dollars, an 80-percent increase compared with the figure in the same period in 2010, Wang said. These mergers and acquisitions are still dominated by Canada, Australia and European countries and concentrated on coal, iron, copper, gold and potassium. In the first three quarters, China has seen the investment of the mining industry reach 2.6 trillion yuan (about 410 billion U.S. dollars), which is a 27.9-percent increase year-on-year, said statistics released by the land and resources ministry. China's economy is moving toward the expected direction of the government's macro control, with the surging mining industry providing significant support, Wang said. China's mining industry has seen smooth progress on mineral exploration, steady growth on mine production and improvement on the mine environment, he added. Moreover, the price on mineral products has been gradually stabilized with active imports and exports. In the first three quarters, the total volume of imports and exports of mineral products reached 704.5 billion U.S. dollars, a 34.7-percent increase year-on-year. "China will deepen the pragmatic cooperation in global mining industry and oppose the trade protectionism. China will also facilitate to establish a fair and rational system for international mining products trade and investment," Wang said. The annual China Mining Congress & Expo, co-hosted by the Ministry of Land and Resources and Tianjin municipality, has attracted about 4,800 participants from over 50 countries and regions.