With innovation as our oar, we’ll ride the waves of a new era! The Provincial Natural Resources Investment Group cultivates new-quality productivity through technology.

402.2 meters, 500 meters, 510.2 meters... In the central lake area of Namtso Lake in Tibet, at an altitude exceeding 4,700 meters, China’s record for the deepest lake drilling has been repeatedly broken, and the “time capsule” has been successfully retrieved.

 

In charge of
The on-site sampling for this major global scientific expedition project is being conducted by:
Sichuan Natural Resources Investment Group
Affiliated with Hua Feng Drilling Company

This is a concrete measure taken by the Sichuan Natural Resources Investment Group to thoroughly study and implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on accelerating the development of new-quality productive forces, to ground itself in the new stage of development, to strengthen scientific and technological innovation, and to promote the group's high-quality development through new theories, new approaches, and new actions.
 

Break through the “bottleneck” challenges.

Fully implement the new round of strategic actions for breakthroughs in mineral exploration.

 

As the main entity for the exploration and development of science-and-technology-based strategic mineral resources across the province and the state-owned capital investment entity in the field of Natural Resources, the Group has thoroughly implemented the new development philosophy and continuously increased its investment in science and technology.

In 2024, the Group invested over 60 million yuan in geological exploration and science & technology projects. It organized the application for 14 special long-term government bonds aimed at supporting strategic mineral resource exploration technology research and development projects, and implemented 86 science and technology innovation projects.

1. Dedicated to overcoming critical technological “bottlenecks.”
The geophysical exploration institute under the Group is vigorously building an innovation platform, comprehensively promoting the construction of “one station and four laboratories,” fostering a high-quality innovation ecosystem, and transforming the “key variable” of scientific and technological innovation into the “largest increment” driving high-quality development, thereby helping to tackle technical challenges in industrial development and scientific and technological innovation.

△ Institute of Geophysical Exploration

Engineering Geological Exploration under Complex Geological Conditions in Mountainous Areas
Has always been a technical challenge.

This year, the Institute of Geophysical Exploration’s first major key project—the wide-area electromagnetic survey of the Yu-Xi block in the Sichuan Basin, covering well areas ZU201–ZU203—has established an integrated geophysical exploration technology system for shale gas drilling operations, taking into account numerous specific conditions such as complex shallow geological settings, surface drinking water sources, and ecological redlines. This breakthrough fills a critical gap in geophysical exploration for shale gas resources, specifically in the detection of the electrical properties of target strata.

 

△ “Geophysical Electromagnetic Survey of the Wide-Area Electromagnetic Method in Well Areas Zu 201–Zu 203, Western Chongqing Block, Sichuan Basin” Project

 

2 Actively apply theoretical innovation to guide breakthroughs in mineral exploration.
Group-affiliated Geological Exploration Institute ➤

● In Ganluo County, Liangshan Prefecture, a deep mineral exploration prediction model for lead-zinc deposits was established using the “three-in-one” ore-forming prediction theory. For the first time, Rb-Sr ages were determined to precisely define the ore-forming epoch, effectively predicting the specific spatial location of orebody occurrence and guiding the discovery of over 180,000 tons of additional lead and zinc metal resources.

● In Nimu, Tibet, the existence of the Gangdise porphyry copper belt was first proposed and confirmed. Large- to super-large porphyry copper deposits were discovered and evaluated in the Tinggong, Bairong, and Gangjiang mining areas. The estimated industrial copper resources amount to nearly 880,000 tons, while the low-grade copper resources are estimated at 3.7 million tons. This achievement received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the China Geological Survey.

● Over 2 billion tons of ore resources have been discovered in the deep and peripheral areas of the Taihe Vanadium-Titanium Magnetite Mining District in Xichang City.

△ Geological logging during underground drilling

In March of this year, the Geological Exploration Institute ➤ successfully supported the completion and release of the nation’s first-ever “Technical Guidelines for Exploration and Development of Agate Mines,” filling a gap in geological exploration standards and review criteria for agate mine reports. At the same time, this breakthrough provided a fundamental solution to the long-stalled issue of transferring the Meigu agate mine, a problem that had been unresolved for as many as 12 years.

 

Enhancing the "intelligence" content of core technologies

Safeguard people's livelihood and safety.

Since the start of the flood season, Sichuan has experienced multiple bouts of heavy rainfall, leading to frequent and widespread geological disasters. Identifying precisely “where the hidden dangers lie” has consistently been a critical issue in Sichuan’s efforts to prevent and control geological hazards.

 

Represented by the Luo Wei Intelligent Detection Innovation Studio
Designed and developed by the group’s first batch of “Talent Innovation Studios”
“Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Airborne Frequency-Domain Electromagnetic Intelligent Detection Technology and Equipment”
Clearly answered the question.
This project has won...
Second Prize, Sichuan Province Employees’ Innovation Competition 2023
▼

Lowe Studio innovatively applied airborne electromagnetic methods. Through independent design, development, research, and testing, we have developed the AEM-B3 airborne electromagnetic instrument and the VITASEM air-to-ground electromagnetic data processing software. These achievements have overcome the limitations posed by challenging mountainous terrain, enabling rapid detection and acquisition of three-dimensional subsurface geological structures and information on hazardous geological conditions. Compared to traditional ground-based methods, our surveying efficiency has improved by more than threefold, while costs have been reduced by over 25%.

 

The relevant official stated:

“Currently, this technology has been deployed in areas such as the Jinyang Yingzi Landslide and the geological hazard investigation in Jingshi Town, Dachuan District. The new technology not only provides robust technical support for the early detection, early identification, and early warning of geological hazards, but also sets a new benchmark for geological hazard prevention and control efforts in Sichuan—and indeed, across the entire country.”

On August 3, a massive flash flood and debris flow disaster struck Ridie Village, Guza Town, Kangding City, Ganzi Prefecture.

The Group immediately established a special task force for emergency rescue and disaster relief in response to the Kangding flash flood and debris flow disaster. It organized the Survey & Design Group and the Geophysical Exploration Institute—both under the Group’s umbrella—to form the “Kangding August 3 Flash Flood and Debris Flow Emergency Rescue Team.” Utilizing geophysical exploration methods such as transient electromagnetic instruments, proton magnetometers, and metal detectors, the team conducted geophysical surveys and high-risk hazard mitigation operations on gas storage tanks buried by the flash flood and debris flow, thereby effectively safeguarding the lives and property of local residents and rescue personnel from secondary threats.

Today, the Group continues to enhance its scientific and technological innovation capabilities and strengthen the promotion and application of these technologies. Several cutting-edge “black technologies” for disaster prevention and mitigation have already demonstrated their remarkable effectiveness in various geological hazard investigation projects and emergency rescue operations, safeguarding the safety of people’s lives and property.

 

Accelerate digital development

Accumulate and develop new advantages.

 

Fully implement the decisions and arrangements of the provincial Party committee and provincial government, and take proactive action.

■ In 2023, the Sichuan Natural Resources Science and Technology Innovation Space Industrial Park project was launched in Tianfu New Area. As a strategic platform for technological innovation, the project integrates major functions such as mineral resource exploration and development, farmland protection, and ecological restoration. It plans to establish central platforms for property rights trading and innovation in strategic mineral resources. At the same time, the project will actively attract enterprises with strong R&D capabilities, robust profitability, and high-quality assets, thereby accelerating the formation of industrial chain-leading effects and synergies.

Issue a digital development plan and steadily advance the construction of the group’s smart management platform, positioning digitalization as the core driver of high-quality development.

■ Leading the development of a large-scale mining model, we are effectively harnessing the empowering potential of data, thereby driving a comprehensive and deep-level digital transformation in the field of mineral exploration and development.

■ Accelerate the establishment of digital technology companies to provide digital empowerment for mineral resource exploration and development as well as the natural resources sector, foster new-quality productivity, and strive to build a new high ground for digital innovation and development in state-owned enterprises.

“Technology is the Group’s core competitive advantage. We must strengthen technological innovation—especially original and disruptive innovation—to win the tough battles over key core technologies and cultivate new driving forces for the development of new-quality productive forces.”
Relevant officials from the group stated that, in the next step, the group will continue to uphold innovation-driven development and accelerate the construction of the Tianfu Vanadium-Titanium New Materials Laboratory and the Xinglong Lake Science and Innovation Park, jointly providing robust intellectual support and resource guarantees for the group’s digital transformation.

 

Since its establishment
Group
▼

✓ Has successively won 114 provincial and ministerial-level (industry) awards and holds over 100 intellectual property rights;

✓ Established 2 provincial- and ministerial-level key laboratories, 2 provincial- and ministerial-level engineering technology research centers, 1 academician workstation, 1 postdoctoral workstation, and 15 talent innovation studios.

 

In the grand scheme of successfully implementing the "second half" of the geological exploration unit reform, in the endeavor to strengthen our core businesses, optimize our pillar industries, and enhance industrial synergy, and on the track of developing new-quality productivity, Sichuan Natural Resources Investment Group will wholeheartedly engage, accelerate its pace, bolster its core functions, enhance its core competitiveness, and strive to write a new chapter of vigorous advancement for Sichuan's Natural Resources in the new era.

Source | Sichuan Natural Resources, Provincial Natural Resources Investment Group