1. Entrepreneurial period: from the mid-1980s to 1996.
With China's opening to the outside world, foreign mining companies and primary exploration companies began to pay attention to investing in mineral exploration in China, and carried out some exploration. First, they conducted risk exploration of non-ferrous metals and precious metals in western China.
As one of the largest mining companies in the world, BHP Billiton began to cooperate with the Southwest Metallurgical Geological Exploration Bureau of the former Ministry of Metallurgical Industry from 1987. After four years' evaluation and negotiation, Sichuan Kangdian Company, the first standardized unincorporated cooperative solid mineral exploration enterprise in China, was established with an investment of 4.2 million Australian dollars to carry out strata-bound lead-zinc mine exploration in the east of Huili, Sichuan.
At the same time, primary mineral exploration companies have begun to pay attention to investing in mineral exploration in China. Canada Galaxy Company took the lead in gold mine risk exploration in Hami, Xinjiang. Mingke Metal Company, Taiping Mining Company, General Mining Company, Southwest Resources Company, etc. mainly carry out mineral exploration focusing on gold deposits in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi and other provinces in western China, and set up a number of joint venture and cooperative exploration enterprises such as Huajia, Heilong and Annamei.
Influenced by the periodic change of international gold price, 1994 ~ 1996 formed the first climax of foreign mineral exploration in China. In the initial stage, large mining companies played a leading role in mineral exploration. About 50 ~ 60 foreign mineral exploration companies are looking for investment opportunities in China.
Second, the recession period: 1997 ~ 1999.
Due to the periodic decline of international gold price, the gold exploration fraud case of "Busang Gold Mine" in Indonesia occurred. 1997 Since the end of March, the international exploration market has suddenly changed and shrunk rapidly, making it very difficult to raise funds for mineral risk exploration. Many first-class exploration companies run out of funds for the first time, which is unsustainable. In addition, the joint venture exploration dispute of Dayinggezhuang Gold Mine in Shandong Province and the joint venture agreement of Baoziwan Gold Mine in Shanxi Province have been full of twists and turns, which has caused large foreign mining companies and primary exploration companies to leave China as the tide ebbs. The mineral exploration market is global, and China's geological prospecting units are also in the most difficult period at this stage.
At the same time, large mining companies all over the world have adjusted their exploration strategies. Significantly reduce the company's mineral exploration budget and exploration department, and generally no longer conduct grassroots exploration and prospecting. The exploration department of BHP Billiton, which had been engaged in risk exploration in China for 10, also withdrew from China and Jin Kang gold mines in Sichuan in 1999, and all of them were returned to Chinese partners.
Three. Stalemate period: from 2000 to the first half of 2003.
At present, a few foreign companies are still optimistic about China's prospecting potential despite the financing difficulties. They believe that the conditions for China's mineral exploration to open to the outside world will continue to improve, and they firmly believe that investing in mineral exploration in China is promising and rewarding. During the stalemate, we will use a small amount of exploration funds cautiously, continue to carry out small-scale exploration activities, accumulate information and experience, maintain business contacts with partners, adhere to the "severe winter" of exploration cycle, and wait for the arrival of the next "spring" of mineral exploration investment. First-class exploration companies such as Southwest Resources Company, Taiping Mining Company, Mingke Mining Company, General Mining Company and Aohua Gold Company are among them. Large mining companies, such as Anglo-American Mining, Lito, barrick, etc. Keep their exploration office in China and a small number of exploration personnel, continue to pay attention to the mineral exploration market in China, keep in touch with potential China partners and look for projects that can be invested. During the stalemate, it was difficult for domestic geological prospecting units to obtain exploration projects, and the exploration investment and drilling workload fell to the lowest point in history, and a large number of exploration rights were abandoned.
Fourth, the recovery and prosperity period: from the second half of 2003 to the present.
At the beginning of 2003, the price of gold began to rise, from US$ 320/ounce to around US$ 400/ounce, to US$ 480/ounce in mid-2005, and to over US$ 600/ounce in 2006, reaching the highest level in 25 years. Due to the rising price of gold, gold exploration financing has become more active. Gold exploration is the weather vane of solid mineral exploration, and the mineral exploration market has entered a new prosperity cycle (see figure 1-2). Coupled with the sustained high-speed economic growth in China and the huge demand for mineral products in the domestic market, since the second half of 2003, foreign mining companies and primary mineral exploration companies have once again entered China in large numbers, with the momentum exceeding 1994 ~ 1995, and China's foreign investment exploration has entered a recovery period and a prosperous period.
By 2005, the total investment in the global mineral exploration budget will be about 5 1 100 million dollars. In 2006, mineral exploration investment exceeded the historical peak of $5.2 billion in197, reaching $7.5 billion, and it is expected to increase further in 2007. In 2006, the investment in mineral exploration in China reached 6.6 billion yuan. The market factors of global mining and mineral exploration have brought foreign investment exploration into a prosperous period.