(TibetanReview.net, Sep20’26) – Tibet is home to some of China’s largest state-owned mining operations because a number of strategic minerals have been found in it, with some of them topping in volume by known reserves. In a latest development, two established Chinese mining companies have planned to jointly acquire and develop gold, copper and other critical mineral projects in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), marking the latest corporate push to tap the region’s resources as Beijing seeks to strengthen domestic supplies of strategic raw materials, reported scmp.com Sep 19.
The report said that privately controlled Xizang Zhihui Mining and state-owned Zhaojin Nonferrous Mining had signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement on Sep 17 to pursue joint investment in mining projects in TAR.
The report cited Zhihui Mining as saying in a statement that the partners would target reserves of strategic minerals including copper, molybdenum, chromium, antimony, gold, tungsten and zinc.
Vast reserves of copper, molybdenum, gold, and zinc are currently co-extracted from open-pit mines located in Jiama (Gyama) Mine, located in Meldro Gungkar County of Lhasa a City.
Qulong (Chulong) & Rongmucuola Mines, located east of Lhasa, are known to hold immense copper-molybdenum deposits with ongoing high-capacity expansions.
The Yulong Copper Mine located in Chamdo (Qamdo) City is recognized as one of the largest copper deposits in the PRC, yielding substantial amounts of copper, molybdenum, and gold.
And the Duolong District in northern-central TAR, situated in the remote hinterland of the central-western Tibetan Plateau, along the southern margin of the South Qiangtang terrane, is known to contain a massive copper-gold ore along the Bangong Co-Nujiang belt.
The agreement is cited as the latest example of state-owned and private-sector miners taking part in Beijing’s most recent nationwide drive to expand mineral exploration, which began in 2021.
The campaign is stated to have gained urgency as competition intensifies over rare and critical minerals used in military equipment, advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies, particularly amid growing geopolitical uncertainty and concerns about global supply-chain security.
“Tibet is not only an important national ecological-security barrier, but also a strategic reserve base for the country’s natural resources,” Zhihui Mining has said.
The report cited TAR authorities as saying that at least nine strategic minerals found in TAR rank among the PRC’s top three by known resource volumes. The region is stated to rank first nationwide for identified resources of copper, chromium, antimony, salt-lake lithium and boron.
These minerals are stated to be used extensively in power grids, electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy equipment, aerospace, semiconductors, defence systems and high-performance alloys.
“Tibet has a significant and diverse mineral resource base,” Liu Wenjing, a member of the AIFC Executive Council for the Mining Sector and founder and principal adviser of Elistra Advisory Limited has said. “Copper, chromium, lithium, lead, zinc and gold are among its notable mineral resources, and there remains considerable exploration potential.”
The report cited the China Geological Survey as saying last year that more than 20 million tonnes of copper resources had been newly identified across the Tibetan Plateau since the start of the country’s 14th five-year plan in 2021.
This public institution under China’s Ministry of Natural Resources has estimated the plateau’s total copper potential at 150 million tonnes and said the area could become a world-class copper resource base.
However, “having substantial resources underground does not necessarily mean they are straightforward to develop,” Liu has cautioned. “High-altitude operating conditions, infrastructure and logistics constraints in some areas, environmental and permitting requirements, and development costs all need to be taken into account.”
Tibet is already home to some of China’s largest state-owned mining operations. Among them is the Yulong mine, which contains copper, molybdenum, iron and gold and produced about 152,000 tonnes of copper in 2025, the report said.