China has made significant strides in mineral resources exploration in the first half of this year, with discoveries of 38 mineral deposits, a year-on-year increase of 31 percent. Among them, 25 were large and medium-sized deposits, the Ministry of Natural Resources said on Thursday.

The ministry also highlighted major breakthroughs in the exploration of important mineral resources.

It mentioned the discovery of the first super-large uranium deposit in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province. In addition, in Xinglong county, North China's Hebei province, newly added rubidium resources amounted to 3.37 million metric tons, achieving a super-large scale and strengthening China's dominant position in rubidium ore.

In Longhua county, also in Hebei, the newly added cobalt resources reached 27,000 tons, reaching a large scale.

Songtao county in Southwest China's Guizhou province saw the addition of manganese resources totaling 22.85 million tons, reaching a large scale. In Tekes county, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the newly added gold resources amounted to 81 tons, with a cumulative find approaching 100 tons, representing a major breakthrough on a super-large scale.

As of now, the exploration targets for the majority of mineral types have been achieved ahead of schedule for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), the ministry said.

In addition, the national non-oil and gas mineral exploration investment reached 7 billion yuan ($975 million), a year-on-year increase of 23.9 percent, it said.

It highlighted a growing enthusiasm among enterprises to engage in mineral exploration. Social funds invested 3.4 billion yuan, marking an almost 30 percent year-on-year increase and constituting nearly half of the country's total investment. Central and local financial funds combined reached 3.6 billion yuan, reflecting a 20 percent year-on-year increase.

In terms of mineral types, exploration investments have surged in minerals such as tin, tungsten, copper and phosphate ores, as well as bauxite, showing year-on-year increases of over 50 percent. Exploration investments in coal, lead-zinc, molybdenum, gold, graphite and other minerals have also experienced varying degrees of growth.

The ministry has also bolstered the provision of exploration rights, issuing a record-high of 581 strategic mineral exploration rights last year. A total of 318 strategic mineral exploration rights were granted in the first half of this year.