(Yicai) July 10 -- China has recorded a more than 30 percent increase in newly discovered mineral deposits in the first half of this year due to expanding exploration efforts to meet rising demand for materials used in sectors such as energy, electric vehicles, and medical devices.

From January to June, the nation discovered 38 new mineral deposits, up 31 percent from a year ago, the Ministry of Natural Resources announced today.

Some of the breakthrough projects include northeastern Heilongjiang province's first extra-large uranium deposit and northern Hebei province's massive rubidium deposit, which is expected to boost local reserves of the chemical element used in medical imaging by about 3.4 million tons, the ministry disclosed.

Additionally, Hebei's Longhua county secured 27,000 tons of cobalt reserves, Guizhou's Songtao identified 22.9 million tons of manganese reserves, and Tekes County in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region confirmed 81 tons of gold reserves, according to the ministry.

China has achieved most of its mineral exploration targets set in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) ahead of schedule, a ministry official said.

The success stems from increased investments. Preliminary statistics from the ministry show that China's investment in non-oil and gas mineral exploration reached about CNY7 billion (USD975.3 million) in the first half, up 24 percent from a year ago.

Some of the most active fields are tin, bauxite, tungsten, copper, and phosphorus, as exploration investment in these minerals grew more than 50 percent from a year earlier, while investment in finding coal, lead-zinc, molybdenum, gold, and graphite also rose.

China has been granting more licenses to unearth natural resources. Last year, the ministry issued 581 strategic mineral exploration licenses, the highest in nearly a decade, and the pace has only accelerated with another 318 permits issued in the first half of this year.

Given the unstable external environment and growing domestic demand for mineral resources, implementing new exploration strategies is particularly crucial for China, an industry expert told Yicai.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine