Thoughts and suggestions on strengthening the mineral resource economy in Yunnan Province

In 2022, the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and Government proposed to strengthen the resource economy, and the mineral resource economy is an important component of the resource economy. Yunnan is rich in mineral resources. How to achieve the exchange of resources for industry, market, and technology in the mining industry, promote industrial development with resources, create a full industry chain, and truly transform resource advantages into development advantages is the core essence of Yunnan’s strengthening of mineral resource economy in the new era. This paper elaborates on the economic connotation of mineral resources, summarizes the endowment of mineral resources and the current development status of the mineral resources industry in Yunnan, identifies the factors that currently constrain the growth of Yunnan’s mineral resources economy, and based on the situation and mineral conditions of Yunnan Province, proposes suggestions and measures from four aspects around the theme of strengthening the mineral resources economy: firstly, to improve society’s awareness of the fundamental contribution of mineral resources. The second is to adjust the economic and industrial structure of mineral resources reasonably, and strengthen the governance of resource-based cities through the construction of industrial parks. The third is to implement a differentiation strategy for Yunnan’s advantageous minerals, technology constrained minerals, and resource potential minerals, and to strengthen and optimize the mineral resource economy. The fourth is to improve the quality and efficiency of green mining construction, effectively alleviate the structural, root and trend pressures of safety production and ecological environment protection. These measures aim to shape a more inclusive, predictable, sustainable, and competitive environment for mineral resources and mining development, promoting the transformation of Yunnan from the traditional thinking mode of “mining and selling” to a new mode of coordinated development of “resources-industry-ecology”.