Analysis of China’s non-oil/gas geological exploration situation in 2024 and prospect

Driven by the strong growth in demand for geological exploration due to domestic economic development, China’s geological exploration work has overcome the adverse factors of the global geological exploration industry’s adjustment and downward trend, achieving a continuous increase in investment for four consecutive years, and taking new steps towards high-quality development in the geological exploration industry. A new cycle of growth in geological exploration investment has taken shape in China. The sustained growth in geological exploration investment and the significant increase in the willingness of market entities to invest indicate a solid trend. The professional structure of geological exploration investment continues to adjust, supporting the enhancement of capabilities for resource and environmental security. The spatial pattern of geological exploration investment, with equal emphasis on both eastern and western regions, has been further solidified, with a clear trend of mineral exploration shifting westward. Driven by the new round of strategic actions for mineral exploration breakthroughs, investment in mineral exploration has continued to grow. Against the backdrop of a more relaxed balance between supply and demand for mineral products and a continued adjustment in the profits of the mining industry, investment in mineral exploration reached 13.917 billion yuan in 2024, an increase of 18.4% year-on-year; the enthusiasm of enterprises to invest in mineral exploration has further increased. The structure of mineral exploration continues to adjust, with precious metals and rare metals being more favored, and investment in energy metal mineral exploration growing rapidly. The volume of drilling work continues to increase, and the effectiveness of exploration is slowly improving. In the foreseeable future, geological exploration investment will maintain a development trend of steady growth, the structure of geological exploration will continue to adjust, new momentum will continue to grow, and the capacity to support natural resource management and the construction of ecological civilization will be further enhanced.