Zijin Mining Group’s recent exploration at the Tongshan Copper Mine in Nenjiang, Heilongjiang Province, has been recognized as one of China’s “Top Ten Geological Discoveries of 2024” by the Geological Society of China. The announcement highlights the identification of major blind copper orebodies—specifically the V and III orebodies—located deep underground. This is noted as the largest copper discovery in Northeast China in forty years.
The exploration was a collaborative effort between Zijin’s Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration and Duobaoshan Copper. The team used a combination of geological, geophysical, and geochemical analysis, along with historical drilling data. Through verification drilling, they confirmed the presence of the large V Orebody after three years of work.
According to Zijin Mining, these efforts have resulted in identifying 3.83 million tonnes of contained copper within the V and III orebodies. Additional resources discovered include 57.8 tonnes of gold, 1,182 tonnes of silver, 137,000 tonnes of molybdenum, and 214 tonnes of rhenium. This adds 3.65 million tonnes to Tongshan’s copper resource base.
The Geological Society of China has recognized leading technological achievements and significant exploration discoveries since 2007 to encourage innovation and further geological research across the country.
