1. China's Mineral Resources in Global Comparison
China possesses about 150 of the 163 known usable minerals and primary sources of energy; in some cases, the quality of these resources rank among the largest in the world (see plate XI). China is very rich in coal. Data on available reserves vary from 115 billion tons (Dorian) and 333 billion tons (ChinaStatistical Yearbook 2006). Even with the lower estimate, which would b…