On August 19, 2014, the 14th IAGOD (International Association on the Gensis of Ore Deposits Symposium) was held in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province, southwest China. Over 700 experts and scholars attended the conference, among which were participants from U.S, U.K, Russia, and Australia, etc.

The last time China hosted the quadrennial symposium was in 1994 , when the academician Pei Rongfu chaired the International Association of the Genesis of Ore Deposits. China welcomed friends from home abroad again after 20 years. Under the theme “Mineral Resources: Discovery and Utilization”, the symposium will conduct four-day discussions on 19 hot topics, including large to super large deposit ore-forming process, Porphyry Cu (±Au, Mo) deposits ore-forming process, skarn deposits, IOCG deposits, Carlin-Type Gold Deposits, etc. The chairman of the session of (IAGOD) was the researcher Mao Jingwen from Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, China Geological Survey.

Resources and environment are two equal themes which drew the attention of the whole world. Chinese government has been adhering to the resource-conserving and environment-friendly sustainable development. We have seen the great economic and social achievements in recent years, and the consumption of mineral resources in China has reached an unprecedented level, making China a big consumer of bulk of mineral resources. China has been implementing a new round of land and resources survey for recent ten years, and conducted fundamental, non-profit, and strategic survey and evaluation work in order to find mineral resources in urgent need. A new batch of national level resources base have been established after great efforts, which provide strong support and services to national economic progress and social development. China’s economy, resources and market are going through great changes, and mineral resources safety and the development of mining industry are faced with new background, new situations and new challenges. China will make great efforts to enhance investigation, monitoring and evaluation in the field of natural resources utilization, ecological environment protection, urbanization and engineering construction in line with central government’s demand and national need.

The Symposium noted that the exploration and development of mineral resources become increasingly relying on the progress of mineral deposit geology and exploration technology. The Symposium will be a grand gathering for the international mineral deposit academia, and also a big event for Ministry of land and Resources of China as well as China Geological Survey. It will serve as a platform for the exchange of knowledge and ideas, and an opportunity for the extensive communication of scientists home and abroad, which leads to an enhanced understanding of the genesis of mineral deposits in continental settings, as well as improving techniques for exploration, discovery, and utilization.