Chinese geologists claim to have found what they say is Asia's largest iron ore deposit with an estimated reserve of more than 3 billion tons. The deposit is located underground in Benxi city in northeastern China's Liaoning province at depths of 1,200 meters (3,937 feet0 to 1,860 meters (6,102 feet0,

China cracks more than 125,000 illegal mining cases in three years BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua)-- China checked more than 125,000 cases of illegal mining in the past three years amid a crackdown on illegal resource exploitation.

China marks anniversary of ancient Chinese geographer BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Memorial activities were held in Beijing on Tuesday to mark the 420th anniversary of the birth of Xu Xiake (1587-1641), an ancient Chinese geographer known for his 600,000-character travel notes.

By Hu Yinan A second national plan on mineral resources, spanning 2006 to 2010, is being drafted and will be submitted to the State Council in August, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) said yesterday.

Xu Shaoshi, of Han nationality, is a native of Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province. He was born in October 1951, entered the workforce in April 1969 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in December 1974.