China makes major breakthrough in Anhui copper-gold exploration

(ECNS) -- China has achieved a major breakthrough in copper and gold exploration, with the Chating porphyry copper-polymetallic deposit found in Xuancheng, east China's Anhui Province emerging as the largest of its kind in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Located in the heart of the Yangtze River Delta, the deposit is estimated to contain copper resources exceeding the scale of several 500,000-metric-ton large mines, and gold potential surpassing ten 20-metric-ton large mines, with significant room for further reserve growth, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources

Hu Xianqi, an official from the ministry, highlighted that the rapid breakthrough in this key 2026 exploration project demonstrates China’s immense domestic prospecting potential, despite its high reliance on copper imports.

As copper is essential for green industries like photovoltaics, wind power, and electric vehicles, the discovery will supply local processing industries, ease supply bottlenecks, and boost resource self-sufficiency across the region.