After two years' national resources survey, Chinese geological researchers found that the Gangdise copper vein in Tibet is expected to become China's another world-level copper mine.
The survey shows that the copper vein lying in the mid-east of the Gangdise Mountain may have a potential deposit of 23 million tons. Experts say that the mineral vein consists of three parts: the mid-south Gangdise which extends 360 km in length and 30-40 in width may have a prospective deposit of 15 million tons, the south part having 3 million tons and the middle part a potential of 5 million tons.
What is worth mentioning is that the copper vein is not only rich in copper deposit, but also in iron, gold and some other mineral ores with iron deposit to be at 200 million tons.
Since the vein lies quite near Lhasa and Shigatse,transportation is quite convenient and so it is easy to exploit it. In the near future, the reaches of the Yarlungzangbo River, Lhasa River and Nyang Qu River will become another mineral base of importance in China. Experts suggest a further exploration of the vein should be conducted so as to make sure the actual reserve as soon as possible.
(People's Daily 08/24/2001)
