Geological officials yesterday claimed "heartening" new discoveries of resources which, in two or three years, will reduce China's increasing dependency on mineral imports.

The discoveries include crude oil, iron, copper, and many other resources of strategic importance, announced Meng Xianlai, director of China Geological Survey (CGS), who called for greater reliance on domestic mineral supplies. The organization is a professional unit of the Ministry of Land and Resources.

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He was detailing a comprehensive list of discoveries made since the latest nationwide geological survey was embarked upon in 1999.

"Lack of resources has become a bottleneck for the economy," Meng said. "Our discoveries will alleviate the mounting resources pressure China is facing."

By the end of 2005, the richest class of the new discoveries, 12 types of minerals, were valued at more than 1 trillion yuan ($128 billion).

In total, 747 mineral reserve sites had been discovered by the end of 2005, most notably a series of large-scale sites in the western regions.

According to Meng, "the discoveries prompted us to reconsider the vast potential of China's resources, especially those in the western regions where not much surveying has been done as yet."

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