China will launch its first-ever high-resolution geological mapping satellite for civil purposes next January, according to official sources.

The Ziyuan III satellite, inaugurated on March 2008, will be launched aboard a Long March 4B carrier rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China's Shanxi province, according to a conference held on Monday for the directors of surveying, mapping and geoinformation administrations across the nation.

The satellite will be used to conduct geological mapping, help with natural disaster-reduction and prevention, and lend assistance to farming, water conservation, urban planning and other sectors.