Introduction
Non-metallic minerals are groups of naturally occurring rocks, clays and minerals which are generally much more common and widespread than the fossil and metallic minerals. Non-metallic minerals are used for a wide range of purposes and enter into every aspect of our daily life and industrial fields. Most non-metallic minerals are used in their country of origin due to their high place value but a large number are traded globally now.
Ranking as the third largest country by surface, China is one of the few countries in the world having a complete range of non-metallic mineral resources. On the other hand, after its three-decade boost economy, China has become one of the largest consuming countries of those minerals as well.
In this article, Daydream will give a brief introduction of the main Chinese non-metallic minerals, if you need more information linked to non-metallic minerals and the related down-stream industries, please contact yusi.chen(@)localhost or jean-louis.cougoul(@)localhost
RESOURCES
There are currently more than 90 non-metallic minerals with abundant reserves identified in China and more than 5,000 ore production sites with proven reserves in the country.
-
Chinese proven reserves of Magnesite, Graphite, Fluorspar, Talcum, Asbestos, Gypsum, Barite, Wollastonite, Alunite, Bentonite, Mirabilite and rock salt are the largest in the world.
- Chinese proven reserves of phosphorus, Kaolin, Pyrite, Tripolite, Zeolite, Pearlite and Cement limestone hold major position in the world.
The distribution of non-metallic minerals in China is wide and unbalanced, and the exploitation rate of each mineral varies by region and by type.
-
In the middle and east of China where more economically developed regions are concentrated, more deposits are explored and exploited to feed the larger needs of end-use industry. However, after more than 30 years of extraction, it is observed that some mineral resources are in short supply in these regions.
-
On the contrary, in western China, total mineral resources are usually available in large quantities but low prospecting degree mainly due to
-
-
Unfavorable natural environment
-
Lower demand of minerals for end-use industry
-
Fig. Illustration of main deposits by types of minerals by regions
Despite the large quantity of reserves identified in China, high quality resources such as high grade Talcum, flake graphite, fluorspar and Na-based Bentonite are exhausted quickly. For example:
Another problem of the Chinese non-metallic mineral exploration is the low ratio of basic reserve in total identified resource (so-called exploration rate). The average ratio of some listed non-metallic minerals is only around 20%.
MAIN ISSUES & SOLUTIONS
Low industrial concentration:
ISSUE : Number of mining companies for non-metallic minerals in China is over 80,000 in 2016 (holding >70% of total number of mining companies in China) while more than 90% of them are small-medium sized companies, scattered by products and locations. Large sized non-metallic mining companies’ average output value faintly surpassed 100 million RMB (Approx. 13.3 Million EUR).
SOLUTION：
-
Measures of strengthening environmental protection control, increasing resource tax and augmenting the difficulties of exploitation licenses are used as leverage by the Chinese government to accelerate the industrial concentration of the non-metallic mineral production industry.
-
Leading local producers are expanding their capacity by integrating smaller companies.
Low value added products + Decreasing quality and quantity of higher-end minerals
