Natural resources in Gansu

Gansu province has rich mineral resources, with mining development as a major source of income.

It has various mineral resources. A total of 173 resources have been discovered in the province. There are 97 proven reserves and 67 resources currently being exploited. According to a mineral resource reserve report by the National Land and Resources Ministry, by 2002, Gansu had the largest reserves in China for 10 kinds of minerals. In addition, Gansu ranks among the nation’s top five provinces in regards to the reserve levels of 34 other minerals. It ranks within the top 10 provinces for another 61 kinds of minerals in.

Gansu has rich water resources thanks to its rainfall, glaciers, lakes, surface water and groundwater.It has 30.57 billion cubic meters of water within its borders, including 13.45 billion cubic meters in the Yellow River, 10.79 billion cubic meters in the Yangtze River, and 6.33 billion cubic meters in inland rivers.

The province covers a total area of 454,400 square kilometers, the seventh largest in China. It has over 381 million mu (25.4 million hectares) of farmland, 140 million mu of construction land, and 287 million mu of unutilized land.

Gansu per capita land ownership is 26.31 mu, and per capita farmland ownership is 2.71 mu, twice the national average. Mountains and hills account for 78.2 percent of Gansu. The utilization rate of land is 56.93 percent. The unutilized land includes deserts, mountains, rocks, saline soil and swamps, accounts 42.05 percent of the total land.