Finding the minerals in the wild

Members of the exploration team work in Hami prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, June 10, 2015. [Photo/CFP]

Unlike those who usually work in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, the mineral finders who are responsible for exploration and location hunting usually operate in wild areas.

There is such an eight-member mineral exploration team in Hami prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The oldest person is 34, and the youngest is 24.

They live in a camp more than 200 km away from the nearest town. Their job is to collect the rock samples every 40 meters along the planned route and finding the clues that might reveal the mineral buried deep underground.

After collecting the samples, they send them to the laboratory for testing.

Although they work outdoors for nine months, the job is a lot of fun, said the team leader Ma Jun.