The mining rights for seven mines in China's far western
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have been sold for 182.5 million
yuan (US$22 million) at auction, the biggest ever sale since the
region privatized mining rights last December.
The auction will sell the rights to another 20 coal, copper,
ferrous and other metal mines in the region by Monday. About 100
domestic mining enterprises bid at the auction, said the Guiyuan
Auction Company.
Opening mining rights invited investment in the exploitation of
the region's rich mines. To date, 210 deals worth 74.68 million
yuan (US$9 million) have been concluded, according to the regional
land and resources department.
Last December the regional government opened mining rights to
the public, allowing prospectors to sell their output. Mining
enterprises from home and abroad are allowed to prospect and
exploit resources, except for oil and gas, which are reserved by
the state.
Xinjiang has 138 varieties of mineral resources, 80 percent of
the country's total. It has nine of the nation's biggest reserves,
including natural gas, mica and Chile saltpeter, with high yields
of oil, nickel, coal and mirabilite.
Xinjiang is expected to become another energy powerhouse of
China after the eastern regions which have been exploited for 50
years. It has about 3,000 mining enterprises.
(China Daily March 7, 2004)