Changes in driving forces of mineral exploration and its development situation in China from 2000 to 2022

Mineral exploration is at the upstream of the industrial and supply chains of mineral resources, and the driving forces such as economic development, mineral market, and mineral exploitation affect the orientation of mineral exploration.China economy saw a turning point from 2012 to 2013, the annual GDP growth rates slowed down to 6%-8% from 10% or higher over past years, and the growth rates of the industries such as manufacturing, construction, transportation with high consumption of mineral resources slowed down gradually.The amount of mineral extraction reached its peak value in 2014 and fluctuated around the high level, and the increase of mineral consumption slowed down markedly.Different growth trends appeared for different types of mineral resources.With a turning point in 2013, the exploration expenditure underwent from a rapid continual increasing to a rapid declining and then a stabilizing level.Minerals of rare earth and dispersed elements and nonmetallic minerals were given more interest by the market.The amount of newly discovered mineral prospects and newly discovered reserves & resources decreased with the dropping of mineral expenditures.From 2020 to 2022, the market recovery for mineral exploration grew up slowly and exploration expenditures rose slowly.Compared with global exploration and mineral exploration in typical countries, the change situation of mineral exploration in China deviated the normal market trends, implying that the exploration activities were more affected by non-market domestic factors.In the future, a strategic opportunity period is expected for the mineral exploration in China, and the exploration investment will see a rising period.