The geological survey is the basic and antecedent work supporting the economic and social development of the country, and an important system engineering of understanding the earth, exploring resources, protecting the environment, and promoting harmonious co-existence of the mankind and nature. In our country’s socialist construction process the geological survey works have made prominent contributions and obtained great achievements. Along with China’s rapid industrialization, urbanization and modernization in recent years, the demand for mineral resources is increasing and environmental problems become more serious, making the geological work face great challenges.

In 1999, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) launched the “New Round of Nation-Wide Land and Resources Survey Project” which is approved by the State Council and under the great support of the Ministry of Finance, and planed to spend 12 billion Yuan to complete this project in 12 years.

In the past 12 years, under the leadership of MLR and according to MLR’s overall deployment, China Geological Survey (CGS) assumed 5 aspect’s tasks of the New Round of Nation-wide Land and Resources Survey, namely, Basic Geological Survey Program, Mineral Resources Evaluation Project, Geological Hazard Early Warning Project, Technology development Project for Resources Investigation and Utilization, as well as some part of Digital Land Project. Besides, CGS has implemented the special project of Technical Equipment for Geological Staff Directly under the Central Government since 2003.

In the past 12 years of nation-wide large scale geological survey, CGS took premier Wen Jiabao’s important instruction：“more closely incorporate geological works with economic and social development, more actively serve the needs of economic construction.” as the goal of our works, and actively provided services to the macro-strategy, development planning and important policy-making of the country. According to the overall planning and deployment and under the strict management, CGS carried out a number of projects including the basic geological mapping and updating of old geological maps; evaluation of the whole country’s mineral resources potential and the exploration prospects of some important metallogenic zones; evaluation of the ground water resources potential of arid and semi-arid regions; geological environment assessment of some important regions; R&D of geoscientific theories; development of new detection and analysis technologies as well as information technologies. By organizing nearly 30,000 technical personnel to conduct nearly 5,000 geological survey projects every year, we accomplished all the tasks of the nation-wide large scale geological survey, obtained a series of important creative results, and provided strong geological support and services to our country’s major strategic policy-making, economic and social development, land and resources administration and utilization and geological hazards prevention and mitigation.

In the past 12 years of nation-wide geological survey, CGS carried out comprehensive basic geological survey, and based on this work updated large amount of basic geological maps, completed the medium scale regional geological mapping of Qinghai-Tibet plateau and other continental regions where no same degree of geological survey have done in the past, discovered many important mineral prospecting targets, started the new stage of marine geological survey, and enlarged the domain of geological works by opening up the working field of agricultural geology, urban geology, global climate change and so on.

In the past 12 years of nation-wide geological survey, CGS fully evaluated the resources potential of the key minerals for our country, deepened the understanding of 19 important metallogenic regions, discovered and evaluated more than 900 mineral districts, bringing the mineral resources of our country increased by large amount, formed 10 large resources bases which can be constructed into mines, and delineated many mineral resources prospects. We got gas hydrate samples through drilling in both land and sea areas for the first time, delineated 38 important oil and gas bearing basins in the sea areas, and made significant progress in the resources evaluation of the 4 oil and gas exploration prospects. We strengthen and expanded the capacities of 5 major traditional mineral resources bases, effectively promoted the mineral exploration and development of our country, and greatly insured the domestic mineral resources supply.

In the past 12 years of nation-wide geological survey, CGS systematically investigated and evaluated the ground water resources and eastern key areas’ ground water pollution status of our country, and solved the drinking water problem troubling 15 million people in 16 provinces (regions and municipalities); assessed the geological hazards in more than 1,640 counties (cities) located in mountain and hilly areas and defined more than 240,000 potential geological hazard sites, preliminarily established key area’s geological hazard monitoring and control system which has effectively provided services to the construction and safe operation of our country’s major projects; and quickly responded to the major disasters such as Wenchuan earthquake, Yushu earthquake, the drought in southwestern and northern regions.

In the past 12 years of nation-wide geological survey, we obtained the creative research results in the paleontologic fields of Sinosauropteryx, 4 major paleontological groups and so on, established 8 international standard stratigraphic sections –“Golden Spikes”, innovated a series of geoscientific theories with Chinese characteristics such as Qinghai-Tibet plateau formation and evolution, continental dynamics, regional metallogeny, carbon cycle in karst terrains and so on; developed a number of stereo exploration technologies such as aero-geophysical exploration, deep penetration geochemical exploration, satellite and airborne remote sensing, high-precision deep drilling etc., and overcome several technical difficulties such as laboratory test, comprehensive utilization of mineral resources, etc. In past 12 years, we won more than 300 national, provincial and ministry level science and technology awards, and greatly sped up our development from large country to strong country in terms of geological science and technology.

In the past 12 years of nation-wide geological survey, CGS realized the whole process digitalization of geological survey based on self-developed technologies, making the geological work enter the digital age from the paper age, and improving the efficiency of geological works greatly; established the geological technical standards and management system, and basically constructed the nation-wide multi-specialties, multi-size and multi-types geological survey database; preliminarily established the public service system of geological information and largely increased the geological information service capacity.

In the past 12 years of nation-wide geological survey, CGS actively promoted the international co-operation and exchanges and established co-operative relations with tens of national geological surveys, completed the internationally collaborated compilation of map series and the comparative study of cross border metallogenic zones, built the global mineral resources information database, actively carried out overseas initial stage mineral resources survey and evaluation, provided large amount of basic data and information to those who conducted mineral exploration activities abroad, and effectively promoted the implementation of “Utilization of Both Domestic and Overseas Resources and Markets” and “Looking for Commercial Opportunities Abroad” strategies.

In the past 12 years of nation-wide geological survey, the investigation of national mineral resource status conducted by CGS provided important support to our country’s mineral resources administration; the geological hazard emergency investigation conducted by CGS provided fast and effective support to the works responding to the disasters happened abruptly; and the remote sensing monitoring of mines, comprehensive remote sensing investigation of land and resource, and land and resources strategic studies conducted by CGS provided strong technical support to the planning and administration of land and resources.

In the past 12 years of nation-wide geological survey, CGS actively promoted the fundamental change of the geological work ideas, explored and practiced new mechanisms of geological works, tried the large-project mechanism of the geological exploration for minerals, and contributed greatly to the deepening of our country’s structural reform of geological works. Based on all-around development of geological survey, research, talent team and technical equipments, the central public-good geological survey mainly dominated by CGS, and the local public-good geological survey system mainly dominated by 31 provincial geological surveys and geo-environmental monitoring stations were basically set up, the reformation of central geological exploration units of nonferrous, metallurgical, coal, nuclear industry, chemical industry and construction material sectors etc. was pushed forward, and the geological survey and research team construction of related scientific institutes and universities was promoted. CGS actively pursued the cooperation with local geological units and mining companies, preliminarily achieved the good effects of the new mechanism of “promoting commercial investments with public good geological survey, conducting systematic exploration and getting break through quickly.” CGS’s role of attracting large amount of money invested in minerals exploration with basic and antecedent geological survey works was realized, and the solid foundation was laid by CGS for implementing the nation-wide mineral prospecting break through strategy. In the past 12 years, the three-level management system of geological survey projects, the budget and financial system and other management systems and technical standards for the geological survey were improving continuously, ensuring the smooth implementation of the geological survey works of our country. CGS preliminarily established the new system of national geological survey with characteristics of scientific planning, unified deployment, close relation, coordinated operation and high efficiency, overcame the difficulties met at the initial period of the geological sector reorganization, guaranteed the rapid construction of the national geological work group, and opened up an entirely new stage for national geological works. We inherited our glorious traditions, carried forward the “Qinghai-Tibet Spirit” of the new era, and erected a new monument for new era’s geological work!

The practices of past 12 years’ nation-wide geological survey indicate that the development of geological works must follow its inherent laws and the rules of socialist market economy, and be promoted through deepening of the reform. The geological works must be incorporated with economic construction and social development more closely, and CGS should more actively provide services to every aspect of the economic and social development. Through carrying out the public good works of basic and antecedent geological survey, CGS should reduce risks for the commercial geological exploration conducted by companies, and provide basic dada and information to our government’s macroscopic decision-making, economic and social development and land and resources administration. We must continuously strengthen our working staff and construct a strong team with excellent professional talents; explore innovative ideas of geological works; set up new mechanism of mineral prospecting; and actively promote the geological theory and methodology innovation and the exploration technology advancement.

The nation-wide geological survey of past 12 years was carried out during the “Tenth Five-Year Plan” and “Eleventh Five-Year Plan” periods and the beginning of the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” when our country’s administrative system of geological exploration experienced major reform. during the new period of development and according to the overall deployment of the Ministry of Land and Resources, CGS will focus its efforts on serving the needs of economic and social development, adhere to the public good works of basic geological survey, carry out the nation-wide mineral exploration with the goal of achieving great breakthrough. We will continue to improve the quality and accuracy of our geological survey and evaluation, open up new fields of geological services, establish better hazard prevention and mitigation system, and provide technical supports to the national strategies of protecting sea rights and interests, responding to global climate change, conducting mineral development overseas, etc. We will further promote the mineral resources development, environment protection, and sustainable economic and social development, make CGS the first class geological survey in the world, deepen the reform of the geological survey, and create new era’s achievements of national geological works!

For the purpose of making all-around and systematic review and summary of past 12 years’ nation-wide geological survey, and making the public good geological survey results serve the society in time, CGS has compiled the 《Summary Report of Nation-Wide Geological Survey of Land and Resources》 which is completed in three years since 2008.

The contents of this report demonstrate the hard works of tens of thousands geologists in the past 12 years, and the compilation of this report is undertaken by several thousand officers from various departments of CGS. CGS made the unified deployment and reviewed the geological survey projects implemented in the past 12 years in 2008; systematically sorted out the geological survey results in 2009; and summarized the overall results of this nation-wide geological survey in 2010. Several hundred professionals from CGS’s Chief Geologist Office and various Offices and divisions, each region’s geological survey center and the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences have participated directly in the comprehensive compilation of this Summary Report. This Report has been discussed and revised for five times, and tens of famous experts, academicians and leaders have given their precious instructions and assistance to us. Here we would like to express our highest respect and sincere thanks to them!

This Report is composed of six parts: Preface, Introduction, Overview of Geological Survey of Land and Resources, Main Achievements of Geological Survey of Land and Resources, Experiences of Geological Survey of Land and Resources, and Concluding Remarks, and in total has 260 pages, 110,000 characters, 390 figures and 11 tables.

At the 90 year old birthday of the Chinese Communist Party, we publish this Report aiming to use large amount of facts, data, figures, models and summarized working results to demonstrate to the public the newest and great achievements of the nation-wide geological survey of land and resources in the past 12 year, and present a gift to CPC’s birthday!

Wang Min

10/26/2011