Mining is the foundation of the national economy, providing huge material wealth for economic construction and supporting China’s original industrial accumulation. At present, 90% of energy, 80% of industrial raw materials, and 70% of agricultural production materials in China come from mineral resources. The total output value of mining accounts for 25% of the total industrial sales value, and the total profit accounts for 22% of the total industrial profit. China has become the world’s largest producer, consumer and trader of mineral resources. With the rapid economic development, China’s resource and ecological environment constraints are tightening, and there is still a gap between China’s mining technology innovation and the advanced level of foreign countries.

The age of manufactured sand has come, and it is imperative to have a clear understanding of the reserves of Chinese aggregates resources

Aggregates is an important part of mineral resources and an important material basis and support for economic and social development. China is rich in aggregates resources, which can be produced industrially, and the production process is basically not affected by weather, flood seasons and other factors, so the output and product quality are stable; the finished aggregates gradation, grain shape, stone powder content and other indicators are more controllable, and can reach high-quality standards.

In recent years, with the gradual reduction of river sand and other natural sand and gravel resources and the continuous increase in mining management and control, many provinces and cities have issued relevant documents on the prohibition and restriction of sand mining in river channels. The main source of sand for construction is gradually replaced by manufactured sand, and the era of manufactured sand replacing natural sand has come.

At present, manufactured aggregates are the largest mineral products and basic building materials in nature. China is already the world’s largest market for manufactured aggregates, with an annual consumption of about 20 billion tons, an output value of 2 trillion yuan, accounting for about half of the world. The world’s largest market and the largest manufactured aggregates producing companies are in China. After years of rapid development, the scale and efficiency of China’s aggregates have topped the globe, and a number of advanced and applicable aggregates technologies, equipment and processes have been independently innovated. From learning to catch up and running to lead, China’s aggregates industry has already taken an important position in the world’s aggregates industry.

China’s aggregates are mainly derived from quarry and river channel. Due to the fuzzy scope definition, serious illegal mining and over-exploitation, overlapping institutional management, and the industry’s characteristics of large in quantity, small and scatter in size, the resource reserves of aggregates and the actual total mining volume have not been accurate. With the development of the market economy, the existing problems in the classification of mineral resources and reserves have gradually emerged: complex types, unclear boundaries, unclear connotations of some terms, too detailed division of economic meanings, and poor practicability of some types... causing difficulties in understanding and use, misleading information, difficult international comparison, etc.

Recently, the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources released a statistical table of national mineral resources reserves and distributions in 2020, covering energy minerals, ferrous metal minerals, non-ferrous metal minerals, precious metal minerals, rare metal minerals, rare element metal minerals, metallurgical auxiliary raw materials, non-metallic minerals, and chemical raw materials, building materials, other non-metallic minerals, and water and gas minerals across the country.

According to relevant statistics released by the Ministry of Natural Resources, in 2020, the national reserves of quarry mines mainly include limestone for construction, tuff for construction, granite for construction, marble for construction, dolomite for construction, sandstone for construction, sand for construction, diabase for construction, basalt for construction, diorite for construction, peridot for construction, hornblende for construction, a total of 13 kinds of minerals.

Among them, the reserves of limestone for construction are the most abundant, reaching 2.18 billion cubic meters, accounting for nearly 50%; the second is tuff for construction, with reserves of 890 million cubic meters, accounting for 20.4%; the third is granite for construction, with reserves of 650 million cubic meters, accounting for 14.9%. Other minerals account for less than 5%.

The distribution of aggregates mineral resources in various regions
The western region has the most abundant reserves, with 1.66 billion cubic meters, accounting for 38%; followed by the eastern region, with reserves of 1.42 billion cubic meters, accounting for 32%; in addition, the reserves in the northeast and the central region are 850 million cubic meters and 440 million cubic meters, accounting for 19% and 10% respectively. According to the unified standards of the National Bureau of Statistics, the eastern region includes Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong, and Hainan 10 provinces and cities; the central region includes Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, a total 6 provinces; the western region includes 12 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions: inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang; the northeastern region includes Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang Provinces.

Eastern region

The reserves of aggregates quarries in the eastern region mainly include 12 minerals: tuff for construction, granite for construction, sandstone for construction, limestone for construction, dolomite for construction, sand for construction, basalt for construction, marble for construction, andesite for construction, diorite for construction, diabase for construction, and amphibolite for construction.

The reserves of tuff for construction are the most abundant, with reserves of 890 million cubic meters, accounting for more than 60%; followed by reserves of granite for construction with 250 million cubic meters, accounting for 17.3%; the remaining minerals account for less than 5.5%.

Central Region

The reserves of aggregates quarries in the central region mainly include a total of 7 minerals: limestone for construction, dolomite for construction, granite for construction, sandstone for construction, diabase for construction, marble for construction, and basalt for construction,.

Limestone for construction reserves are the most abundant, with reserves of 410 million cubic meters, accounting for more than 90%; the remaining minerals account for less than 4%.

Western Region

The reserves of aggregates quarries in the western region mainly include 12 minerals: limestone for construction, marble for construction, sand for construction, sandstone for construction, diabase for construction, dolomite for construction, granite for construction, peridotite for construction, basalt for construction, amphibolite for construction, for construction Tuff, diorite for construction.

Limestone for construction reserves are the most abundant, with reserves of 1.37 billion cubic meters, accounting for more than 80%; the remaining minerals account for less than 8%.

Northeast Region

The reserves of aggregates quarries in the northeast region mainly include 10 minerals: granite for construction, limestone for construction, andesite for construction, dolomite for construction, marble for construction, basalt for construction, sand for construction, diorite for construction, sand for construction, and diabase for construction.

The reserves of granite for construction are the most abundant, with reserves of 390 million cubic meters, accounting for 45.8%; the second is limestone for construction, with reserves of 330 million cubic meters, accounting for 39.5%; the remaining minerals account for less than 6%.

The editor:

It is important to provide support for the precise policy and investment layout of the aggregates industry

The “understanding” of aggregates resources is an important prerequisite for the assignment of aggregates mineral rights and investment planning. It is of great significance to the investment of mineral rights in key areas in China and promotes the balance of supply and demand of aggregates resources. It provides important support for the authorities to implement precise policies and participate in the industry. It is important to give full play to the guidance and control role of mineral resource planning, and thoroughly solve the problem of insufficient basis for aggregates resource planning. We need to comprehensively consider the basic needs of national aggregates, resource endowments, environmental carrying capacity, geological conditions, resource protection and other factors, combined with the overall urban planning and land use overall planning, optimize the spatial layout of national aggregates resources. We must insist market-orientation, strengthen planning and layout, promote the ecological, intelligent, and large-scale transformation and upgrading of aggregates resources, and achieve new breakthroughs in the construction of ecological civilization in the aggregates industry.