Chifeng, Inner Mongolia: looking for mineral breakthroughs in the ‘lithium’ want and ‘tin’ hope

Enterprises--Joining in the search for mineral breakthroughs Compacting the foundation of development

In August, with the frequent rains of summer and autumn, the grasslands of eastern Inner Mongolia are oily and lush. As in recent years, 

mineral exploration and development in the Chifeng region, the wind is strong, the momentum is more vigorous.

A few days ago, the reporter came to the Velasto lithium polymetallic mine located in Keshketeng Banner, Chifeng City. A gentle hill, 

many ores exposed. Pick up a piece, some fine bright mineral composition is clearly visible.

‘This is the centre of the cryptoexplosive breccia rock body of the Velasto deposit. At present this lithium deposit is the largest hard rock 

lithium mine in Asia.’ Chang Xianghui, office director of Inner Mongolia Velasto Mining Co Ltd, happily told the reporter that the Velasto 

mineral resources development and use of the programme just passed the expert review on July 25th. ‘In the future, the place where we 

are standing will also become the centre of the company's lithium open-pit mining.’

According to reports, Inner Mongolia Velasto Mining Co Ltd was established in 2006, held by Inner Mongolia Geological Mining Group, 

this is a copper-zinc polymetallic mine, mainly producing four products of copper, zinc, silver and tungsten, but due to resource depletion 

and other reasons, it has ceased mining in 2019, and it is now in the state of total shutdown. In order to find replacement resources, the 

company has been carrying out peripheral prospecting of the old mine since 2014, and eventually obtained great prospecting results - the first

 discovery of large-scale lithium polymetallic deposits in the north of China, which fills the gaps in the domestic exploration and research of this 

type of deposits.

Velasto Lithium Polymetallic Mine mainly contains lithium, tin, tungsten, zinc and other valuable metal elements, with shallow burial, thick ore body,

 large resource reserves, high grade and other characteristics. Now the total ore reserves of 55.27 million tonnes have been proved, 

including 576,000 tonnes of lithium metal, 122,000 tonnes of tin metal, and the mine has a new service life of 29 years. Now, a total investment

 of 1.16 billion yuan, the annual processing of 2.4 million tonnes of lithium ore processing plant has begun construction, according to the current 

price calculation, the completion of the commissioning of the annual output value of more than 2.3 billion yuan.

Resources are the ‘root’ of the survival and development of mining enterprises. Chang Xianghui said, thanks to the new round of mineral search 

breakthrough strategic action, the company in the local government departments, public geological work and scientific research institutes, with 

the support of 2022 so far, constantly increasing investment in mineral search, has constructed 170 drilling holes, completed drilling 94,000 metres, 

so far, the new lithium oxide metal amount of nearly 1.9 million tonnes, nearly 26,000 tonnes of new tin metal.

Outstanding mineral exploration results and unique geological conditions for mineralisation have made the Velasto lithium polymetallic mine a place

 frequently visited by mining industry colleagues, especially mineral exploration experts, over the past two years. Through the anatomy of the Velasto 

lithium tin deposits, regional metallogenic research and ‘Trinity’ mineral prospecting prediction potential evaluation shows that the amount of lithium

 oxide compounds in the region is expected to exceed 5 million tonnes, tin resources are expected to exceed 200,000 tonnes. According to the 0.3 per

 cent lithium oxide cut-off grade of the ore body, the total estimated ore volume of the Velasto lithium polymetallic mine is about 450 million tons.

At the headquarters of Velasto Mining Ltd, the words ‘lithium want tin hope’ stand out on the wall. Chang Xianghui showed reporters the design of the

 new mine and almost the entire wall of the project schedule. ‘We will strictly in accordance with the national green mine construction standards, first 

open-pit mining lithium ore, and then tin ore and lithium ore at the same time underground mining, and the construction of China's single mine in the

 largest lithium concentrate base, and strive to contribute to the country's strategic mineral resources security.’

Government - to do a good job of factor protection to strengthen the mining economy

Mining has always been an area that the Chifeng Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have fully supported and endeavoured to build.

‘Chifeng is the only prefecture-level city named ‘China's hometown of non-ferrous metals’, and is also a key area for a new round of strategic action to find 

mineral breakthroughs.’ Wu Junling, deputy director of Chifeng Natural Resources Bureau, told reporters that the Chifeng area has significant resource 

advantages in the development of the mining industry - across the North China Plateau and the Tien Shan - Xingmeng orogenic system of the two

 major tectonic domains, is the ancient Asian Ocean orogenic belt and the Pacific Rim orogenic belt convergence area, the metallogenic conditions are 

superior, and has now discovered 86 mineral species, more than 1,600 deposits and mineralisation sites have been discovered.

In the regional mineral resources distribution map, you can see a number of metallogenic belt in the Chifeng area distinctly spread: the northern part of

 the Daxinganling south-central section of the polymetallic metallogenic belt, the central part of the ShaoLang river basin for copper, lead, zinc, silver 

and molybdenum polymetallic metallogenic belt, and in the south of the North China Plateau north edge of gold, silver, iron and copper polymetallic 

metallogenic belt.

At present, the State attaches great importance to the exploration and development of strategic mineral resources. In recent years, Chifeng Keshketeng

 Banner hydrothermal Velasto lithium-beryllium-tungsten-tin ore, Huanggang-Linxi iron tin fluorite ore, Bahrain Left Banner silica-type Haobugao

 lead-zinc-tin-iron copper ore, Baiyinnuo'er - Biliutai lead-zinc-iron polymetallic ore, Aluqorqin Banner porphyry copper ore, and other large-scale 

mineral concentration area of the search for remarkable results. Existing information shows that the entire Chifeng area still has huge potential in

 the search for lithium, beryllium, indium, gallium, iron, lead, zinc, silver, gold and other minerals.

‘We have the ability and must contribute to guaranteeing the security of national energy resources.’ Zhao Caisheng, Standing Committee of Chifeng 

Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor of Chifeng City, said that at present, Chifeng City is seizing the opportunity of the national strategy, and is 

determined to make the mining economy better and stronger by promoting prospecting for additional reserves, mineral resources integration, 

and the development of the whole industry chain.

The first is to make every effort to do a good job of elemental protection, for mining projects to promote the ‘accelerator button’, to promote the 

continuous increase of mineral resources reserves.

‘At present, we are focusing on improving policy initiatives, promoting the implementation of tasks, creating an atmosphere of support for the economic 

development of mining enterprises, and boosting confidence in the development of the mining economy. Chifeng City has formed a mining enterprise 

communication and coordination mechanism covering all relevant departments, focusing on the difficulties in the development of mining enterprises 

and related work, supporting the development of mining enterprises in various systems, improving the basic work and forming a regular, long-term 

mechanism.’

According to Zhao Caisheng introduction, ‘build a good national important energy and strategic resource base’ is one of the five tasks given by the state

 of Inner Mongolia. In the coming period, Chifeng City will closely follow the autonomous region on the mining industry, ‘fast to find and open fast to

 see results’ deployment, in accordance with the requirements of the ‘mine design at a high level, the development and utilization of high-efficiency, 

high-quality development of the mining economy,’ the prospecting of new breakthroughs in the increase in reserves to strengthen the strategic We 

will make new breakthroughs in prospecting for additional reserves, strengthen the exploration of strategic minerals, advantageous minerals and 

new energy minerals, and intensify the setting up of prospecting rights.

Through the construction of four national energy resource bases and 10 national planning areas, the focus is on the exploration of the area around the

 Hongling lead-zinc mine of Bahrain Left Banner, the Caojiatun area of Linxi County, the area around Jiefangyingzi of Wengniuote Banner, the area around

 Baituyingzi of Aohan Banner, the area of Chaihufanzi of Songshan District, and the area of Dashuicheng of Karachiqin Banner, with the aim of increasing 

the reserves as soon as possible.

Secondly, it guides and encourages social capital to legally and orderly enter the field of mining exploration and exploitation.2024 The Ministry of Natural

 Resources listed Chifeng City as a pilot city for carrying out social funds to participate in basic geological surveys, encouraging geological exploration units

 and mining enterprises to carry out regional mineral geological surveys and block preference surveys and evaluations through self-financing. Chifeng City

 issued the Implementation Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the City's Mining Economy, encouraging large-scale mining enterprises 

to integrate surrounding mines through mergers and reorganisations, investment in shares, etc., optimising the development layout, realising large mines and 

large openings, and upgrading large-scale and intensive exploration and development levels.

‘We will focus on creating a new breakthrough in the mining industry ecosystem.’ Zhao Caisheng further introduced that Chifeng City, through the reorganisation

 of mining rights, has formed 31 mineral resources integration areas with the conditions of whole exploration and development, and all 201 mining rights with 

cooperation intention are included in the investment platform to introduce large-scale mining enterprises to carry out risky prospecting and cooperative 

development. At the same time, extend the industrial chain, around the lithium, lead, zinc, copper, molybdenum and other advantageous mineral resources, 

to attract a number of domestic and foreign strategic investors and partners, focusing on planning and introduction of a number of technologically advanced, 

high value-added downstream products and deep processing projects, and make every effort to build a 10 billion lead and zinc industry, 10 billion precious 

metal industry, 10 billion non-metallic industry, 100 billion non-ferrous industry, 100 billion copper industry, trillions of lithium industry.

In addition, Chifeng City has always placed an important position on comprehensively promoting the construction of green mines. Strictly in accordance with 

the Ministry of Natural Resources and other seven ministries and commissions issued a ‘notice on further strengthening the construction of green mines’ and 

the autonomous region issued in April this year, ‘on the continued promotion of the construction of green mines,’ and other documents, environmental governance,

 ecological restoration, green low-carbon, resource conservation, innovative management and other aspects of the strengthening of the measures based on the 

actual development of the mining industry in Chifeng City, the order of comprehensively promote the construction of new mines, production mine Carry out the

 creation of green mines. ‘Green, low-carbon is the economic development of Chifeng unchanged ‘colour’.’ Zhao Caisheng said.