Pondering on issues facing mineral resources development in western China

Western China is abundant in mineral resources but lack in knowledge resource and seriously short of water resources, and the natural conditions are quite adverse. Therefore, under the circumstances of rapid technology development and increasingly globalised market economy, mineral resources in the west must be exploited through implementation of superior resource-transferred strategy along with sustainable development strategy, i.e., mining must be market driven and technology guided; enterprise-grouping must be encouraged; geological exploration must be stressed; and ecologic mineral industry must be build; good investment environment must be created to attract outside funds.