Media Report┃China Mining News: Bearing the “Great Interests of the Nation” and Shouldering the Responsibilities of a Central Enterprise — A Brief Account of the China Chemical Geology And Mining Bureau’s Advancement in Potash Exploration and Development

Recently, China Mining News published an article titled “With a Broad Mind” “Matters of National Importance” — A Brief Account of the China Chemical Geology And Mining Bureau’s Advancement of Potash Exploration and Development, Article statement: The China Chemical Geology And Mining Bureau, affiliated with the China Coal Geological Bureau, serves as a chemical and mineral exploration entity. As the “national team” and a “main force,” upholding the overarching interests of the nation, it demonstrates the responsibility of a central state‑owned enterprise, closely aligning with national strategic priorities. By concentrating its efforts on tackling key challenges in potash exploration and development, it has achieved a series of groundbreaking results, bolstering China’s capacity to ensure potash supply and strengthening the country’s energy and resource security.

 

Published in China Mining News. July 17, 2025

A3‑size geological exploration

 

China Mining News

Potash, as the core raw material for potash fertilizer production, has long been known as… The “food of food” reputation. China’s potash resources currently face a situation characterized by relatively scarce reserve resources and a high degree of reliance on imports. The China Chemical Geology And Mining Bureau, affiliated with the China National Coal Geological Bureau (hereinafter referred to as “China Coal Bureau’s Sinochem Bureau”), serves as the “national team” and “main force” in chemical mineral exploration. With a sense of national responsibility, it demonstrates the commitment expected of a central state-owned enterprise, closely aligning its efforts with national strategic needs. In the field of potash exploration and development, it has pooled resources to tackle key challenges, achieving a series of groundbreaking results that have enhanced China’s capacity to secure potash supplies and strengthened the nation’s energy and resource security.

Deepen theoretical research and solidify the cornerstone of potash resource security.

The China National Coal Administration and the China National Chemical Industry Administration have been deeply engaged in fundamental research on potash resources, advancing theoretical understanding through systematic problem-solving, providing scientific support for the efficient utilization of these resources, and driving the transformation and upgrading of geological exploration practices.

The bureau has completed the compilation of the “Geological Gazetteer of China’s Mineral Resources.” The works “Potash Ore Deposits” and “Metallogenic Patterns of Potash Ores in China” have comprehensively assessed China’s potash resource endowment and elucidated its characteristic attributes. They have also revised the classification scheme for potash deposit types and innovatively proposed a new exploration strategy—“stable–quasi‑stable zones”—thereby providing clear guidance for the exploration of large marine‑and‑continental solid potash deposits. Furthermore, these studies have deepened the understanding of several representative potash deposits, yielding novel insights into their genetic mechanisms, metallogenic models, and exploration targets. Drawing on an analysis of China’s potash resource endowment and the level of resource security, the research puts forward targeted recommendations to strengthen technological development in potash mining, advance the exploitation and application of refractory polyhalite ores, and improve mineral‑resource management. Collectively, these achievements not only support government planning and policy formulation, as well as potash exploration, development, and resource security, but also underpin geological research and education, foster innovation in metallogenic theory, and drive scientific and technological progress, thereby fully demonstrating their dual value at both the national strategic and the scientific‑development levels.

The China National Coal Administration and the China National Chemical Corporation have been steadily intensifying their efforts in the field of salt‑lake resource research, achieving a series of groundbreaking results. In collaboration with Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co., Ltd., they have launched an applied basic research project aimed at the refined and efficient development and utilization of resources from the Qarhan Salt Lake, focusing on… With the goals of “Transparent Qarhan, Smart Qarhan, and Ecological Qarhan,” the region has, for the first time, conducted a detailed, zoned, stratified, and grade‑specific assessment of the solid and brine resources of potassium, magnesium, lithium, and other elements in the Qarhan Salt Lake, elucidating their distribution patterns and laying a solid foundation for refined extraction. A resource management service platform and a three‑dimensional dynamic model have been established, enabling optimized mining operations and real‑time management. Furthermore, the distribution of beneficial and deleterious constituents in the clean zones, as well as the enrichment mechanisms and occurrence forms of rubidium and cesium during solar evaporation, have been identified, providing valuable guidance for comprehensive utilization. The bureau has produced six peer‑reviewed papers, secured five patents, and obtained one software copyright. The “Salt Lake Science and Technology Innovation Team” formed under this project has generated cumulative revenues exceeding RMB 28 million, driving a shift in geological exploration toward an integrated research paradigm that links resources, ecology, and management. In the field of deep‑brine studies, the bureau has undertaken a project focused on the potassium‑rich characteristics and ore‑forming predictions of Cambrian‑age deep brines in the Sichuan Basin. By innovatively introducing a leaching‑experiment and geostatistical approach grounded in paleo‑analogy, it has clarified the indicator system for potassium prospecting in marine evaporite basins, delineated the spatial distribution of Cambrian evaporites, and determined the genesis of Cambrian‑age brines within the Tianxingqiao structure, thereby opening new avenues for the discovery of solid potash deposits. At the same time, the bureau has advanced the upgrading of deep‑exploration technologies and fostered interdisciplinary collaboration, cultivating multidisciplinary, cross‑functional talent and strengthening the human‑resource base for the industry’s long-term development.

Overcoming technical challenges to support the efficient development of potash resources.

The China National Coal Administration and the China National Chemical Industry Administration take technological innovation as their core, focusing on potash‑salt evaluation and mineral exploration. The “bottleneck” challenge is being addressed through technological breakthroughs and the commercialization of research outcomes, establishing an integrated “research–industry” ecosystem to drive the efficient development of potash resources.

The China National Coal Administration and the China National Chemical Industry Administration have achieved key technological breakthroughs in the project on resource assessment and dynamic reserve modeling for the Lop Nur salt lake in Xinjiang. The administrations independently developed a resource management service platform system and innovatively applied groundwater numerical simulation technology and… “Subsurface Stratification Exploration Technology” has developed a mineral reserve estimation model, enabling simulated calculations of salt‑lake resource reserves across different stratigraphic levels, block segments, spatial extents, and time periods. This advances the digital and intelligent transformation of dynamic reserve management, filling a critical gap in the intelligent, digitalized management system for salt‑lake mine reserves. Beyond addressing key technological bottlenecks hindering corporate development, this achievement has yielded significant demonstration effects through its widespread application in China’s salt‑lake industry, generating over RMB 40 million in additional operating revenue. It has also fostered an integrated “research–industry” team, resulted in the publication of five scientific papers, led to the filing of eight patent applications, and earned recognition as a “Youth Civilization Unit” from the CYL Working Committee of Central Enterprises and an “Outstanding Youth Commando Case” from the All-China Youth Federation, thereby achieving deep integration among the innovation chain, industrial chain, and talent chain.

In the research on key technologies and their applications for potassium exploration in the deep strata of the Tarim Salt‑forming Basin, the China National Coal Administration and the China National Chemical Corporation adopted a multidisciplinary integrated approach to fully exploit the value of existing data, investigated the salt‑forming and potash‑forming conditions along the northern margin of the Tarim Basin, and proposed… The “marine transgression–terminal closure forming potash, marine regression–channel subsidence forming potash” metallogenic model has delineated prospective potash‑mineralization areas and potassium‑bearing anomaly zones, estimated prospective resource volumes, and, for the first time, identified high‑bromine rock‑salt layers, thereby providing new evidence for the metallogenic theory. The “integrated oil‑potash exploration” approach it has distilled has been widely adopted in salt‑bearing oil and gas basins such as the Qaidam Basin and the Congo Basin in Africa, and has been incorporated into industry standards. Following expert evaluation, the project’s results have reached an internationally advanced level, earning the Second Prize of the 2024 Non‑Metallic Minerals Science and Technology Award, and providing robust technical support for deep‑level potash exploration nationwide.

Deeply cultivating overseas markets to support the development of potash salt production bases.

Through tackling key projects in Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, and other regions, the China National Coal Administration and the China National Chemical Corporation have achieved significant results in resource exploration and international cooperation.

The bureau takes the Lao potassium salt exploration project as its key initiative and implements… More than ten key projects have led to the discovery of two super‑large potash deposits, with proven KCl resources exceeding 600 million tonnes and an average grade of over 15%. Additional exploration has added more than 200 million tonnes of KCl resources, including a newly identified, continuous, stable primary sylvite deposit containing over 150 million tonnes of resources at a KCl grade of 30%. These efforts have collectively generated operating revenues exceeding RMB 53 million. Meanwhile, the company has elucidated the metallogenic laws, ore‑forming models, and predictive frameworks for potash deposits in Laos, providing a high‑value resource base for large‑scale development. Centered on the lithium‑potash exploration project at the Bolivian salt lake, through mineralogical drilling and core logging, the project has established that the salt lake hosts a comprehensive deposit dominated by liquid potash and lithium minerals, clarified its metallogenic geological conditions and orebody characteristics, and discovered one large lithium‑potash deposit within the salt lake.

The Lao project’s achievements have received authoritative recognition from multiple sources, making it the sole designated third-party consulting firm of Laos’ Ministry of Energy and Mines. The Banpa potash exploration report was rated excellent in an evaluation organized by the China Mining Association, successfully opening up the Southeast Asian market. Meanwhile, the Bolivian project has laid the groundwork for expanding into the South American lithium‑potash market and deepening international mining cooperation. These accomplishments have paved the way for building… A diversified supply system spanning both domestic and overseas markets provides resource support, fostering win-win outcomes between Chinese enterprises and local communities, and achieving a harmonious integration of social and economic benefits.

Standing at a new starting point, the China National Coal Administration and the China National Chemical Industry Administration will always bear in mind… Guided by the overarching national mission, we are firmly committed to the core objectives of ensuring potassium‑salt resource security and driving industrial transformation and upgrading. We continue to advance potassium‑salt exploration and development toward greater intelligence and sustainability, establishing a benchmark for “strategic resource security” in the geological survey sector. By leveraging technological breakthroughs and innovative business models, we empower the industry’s transition, injecting sustained momentum into the safeguarding of national food security and energy‑resource security.