The country's western region will be increasingly explored and mineral supervision tightened to enlarge and fully utilize China's resources, a top official vowed yesterday.

In an interview with China Daily, Land and Resources Vice-Minister Shou Jiahua admitted the country did not have enough of some important resources like oil and copper.

But Shou said proper measures can help relieve the situation to a "considerable degree."

While China is already one of the most important markets in the world for some mineral products, the ministry is still looking to the vast Chinese land for an abundant mineral supply in the future.

Especially, Shou said, large areas in the western region, which boasts great potential for new mining projects, have not yet been thoroughly prospected.

Shou said the China Geological Survey under the ministry is steadily expanding its efforts in the region.

Last year alone saw a couple of major discoveries of new gold, iron and antimony reserves.

While a prospecting plan for Tibet promises rich reserves of iron, gold, copper, antimony and oil over the next two years, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region recently announced a seven-year-long geological survey.

The 1 billion yuan (US$120 million) survey is expected to map out the region's long-term potential for oil, natural gas, sylvite, copper, nickel, lead and zinc.

In addition, the ministry has published several regulations inviting the participation of non-government funds - both domestically and from overseas - in the country's prospecting push. All of the regulations have one thing in common: according to Shou, to protect the rights of those investing in the course.

For those areas already boasting mineral worth, the ministry is set to improve the exploitation and utilization efficiency by imposing stricter supervision and administration controls.

"While complaints about insufficient mineral resources are surging, low-efficient exploitation and processing exist in many regions," Shou said.

The ministry has been closing inefficient mines since 1998. After years of joint effort with related departments, the number of mines in China has been reduced by several thousand.

"The mining order of the country has undergone an essential turn for the good," Shou said.

Based on the shakeup, the ministry announced the country's first mineral resource exploitation program at a provincial level, which has set output goals and designated mining regions.

Defying the stated goals and straying from defined mining regions may cost a company its operation license, according to the program.

(China Daily February 25, 2003)