The Chongqing municipal bureau of land and resources confirmed in late December an iron mine in Wushan County has verified reserves of over 100 million tons and prospective reserves of about 300 million tons.

That makes it Chongqing's biggest iron mine. The mine was discovered in the 1950s, but due to its high phosphorus content, it was regarded as a waste mine, the Chongqing Economic Times reported.

Chongqing Iron Steel (Group) Corp and many companies from home and abroad have shown keen interest in the mine and the local government is seeking qualified companies with advanced phosphorus-removal technology to extract and refine the ore.

Gold funding

Three companies in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that are engaged in the gold industry recently received 7.6 million yuan of in State funds for gold prospecting and resources protection, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Statistics show that a total of 12 projects in the region have obtained 15.7 million yuan in funding since 2004. The local government plans to invest 150 million yuan in gold prospecting during the 11th Five-year Plan (2006-10).

The local gold management bureau estimated the annual gold output in the region at about 7 tons in 2007 and forecast it to reach 10 tons by 2010.

COFCO investment

COFCO, China's largest cooking oil and food importer and exporter, will invest 10 to 12 billion yuan in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to develop major industries, including biological energy, farm product processing and real estate, according to a long-term strategy cooperation framework agreement, recently signed by COFCO and the Guangxi government.

The first-phase of a non-food ethanol fuel project in Guangxi, with a total investment of 757 million yuan, was put into production in late December. It is also the first non-food ethanol fuel project in China.

Pig insurance

Weifang in Shandong Province plans to establish a government-subsidized insurance policy for pig raising in a bid to stabilize the market supply, www.people.com.cn reported.

Local governments above county-level will pay 80 percent of the insurance fees while farmers will pay the other 20 percent.

So far, 102,000 sows have been insured. Pig breeders will be compensated for losses resulting from natural disasters, serious diseases and some accidents.

Business circle

Jinan, capital of Shandong Province, and six nearby cities could be incorporated into a city business circle, according to a plan called the Jinan City Circle Layout, which was jointly released by Shandong Provincial Construction Office and Peking University on December 27.

The business circle includes Jinan, Zibo, Tai'an, Laiwu, Dezhou, Liaocheng and Binzhou, which occupies 53,000 sq km and has a population of 32.19 million. The plan aims to make full use of the local strengths, tie togther economic relationships and boost integrated development.

Resource recycling base

Chongqing Municipality will invest 500 million yuan this year in a Xipeng industry center to build a 33.33-hectare logistics center for recycling resources. Its first phase project will be built by 2010 and the secondwill be completed in 2015, according to the Chongqing Economic and Trade Bureau.

The base includes centers for car disposal, scrap metal, scrap home appliances and a research development center. Advanced technology will be introduced to manage electronic waste .

(China Daily 01/05/2008 page10)