Data from the Ministry of Natural Resources released on September 11 reveals that the Global Mining Development Report 2026 has been published. In 2025, global investment in exploration for major solid minerals reached $12.401 billion, a modest year-on-year decline of 0.6%. This marks the fourth consecutive year of contraction, though the rate of decline has noticeably slowed compared to the previous year.
Investment in grassroots-stage exploration totaled $2.574 billion, further shrinking to just 20.8% of total exploration spending, underscoring growing concerns about resource replacement. When examining commodity composition, investment in strategic emerging minerals saw a substantial pullback, while gold and copper exploration spending bucked the trend with increases. Regionally, exploration investment remains focused on Latin America, with notable gains recorded in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. Investment flows have become increasingly concentrated in the mine development phase, accounting for 45.4% of total spending, as major mining companies solidify their dominant position in exploration activity.
Global Mining Sector Enters an Era of Compounded Transformation
The report provides a comprehensive overview of global mining industry developments since 2025, systematically analyzing supply-demand dynamics for mineral resources, exploration and development activities, major mineral product markets, mining company performance, policy and governance trends across key countries, and cutting-edge developments in mining technology. Against the backdrop of unprecedented global change, the accelerated energy transition has positioned critical minerals as essential resources supporting both energy transformation and green development. These minerals now face formidable challenges, including surging demand and supply chain instability, propelling the global mining industry into a phase of compounded and overlapping transformations.
Supply and Demand Landscape Undergoes Deep Recalibration
Global energy resource production and consumption continue to rise overall, but structural adjustments are occurring beneath the surface, with significant divergence across different mineral categories. Energy minerals are experiencing softening demand, with oil in oversupply, natural gas seeing increases in both supply and demand, and coal witnessing falling production alongside rising consumption. Bulk commodities present a mixed picture: steel supply is declining while demand rises, copper and zinc are seeing growth in both supply and demand, and aluminum is experiencing declines across both metrics. Strategic emerging minerals are generally facing oversupply conditions, with oversupply in nickel and lithium deepening. Precious metals remain in tight supply-demand balance, with platinum and silver facing supply shortfalls and gold maintaining a delicate equilibrium. Agricultural minerals are seeing increases in both supply and demand, while oversupply in potash and phosphate fertilizers continues to expand. Meanwhile, global supply chains are accelerating their shift from an "efficiency-first" paradigm to a "security-first" approach, fundamentally restructuring trade and investment patterns.
Exploration Investment and Large-Scale Mining Projects Decline While Drilling Market Recovers
Global drilling markets for major solid minerals reversed the downward trend of the previous two years in 2025, with total drilling projects and borehole counts surging by 9.9% and 31.2% respectively. Precious metals dominated drilling activity, accounting for 68% of all projects, with gold alone representing 61.5% of the total. The number of large-scale mining projects worldwide continues its downward trajectory, though projects focused on strategic emerging minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel are bucking the trend with counter-cyclical growth.
Divergence in Mineral Price Trajectories Widens
Traditional fossil energy prices faced sustained downward pressure in 2025, while precious metals and certain new-energy-related minerals demonstrated strong price performance. Energy mineral prices generally declined, with annual average oil and coal prices falling 15.1% and 22.0% respectively. Bulk solid mineral prices showed overall upward momentum with fluctuations; apart from iron ore's slight decline, copper, aluminum, and zinc prices advanced 8.7%, 17.0%, and 4.7% respectively. Strategic emerging minerals displayed divergent and volatile price patterns: lithium initially fell before recovering, cobalt prices jumped 33.0%, and nickel trended lower overall. Precious metals rallied strongly, repeatedly setting new records, with gold, silver, and platinum surging 62.8%, 144.8%, and 141.7% respectively for the year. Agricultural mineral prices rose on average as market conditions gradually improved.
Financing and M&A Markets Heat Up Significantly
The global mining financing market experienced remarkable buoyancy in 2025, with both the number of financing projects and total financing value climbing substantially. A total of 3,224 mining financing projects were completed during the year, up 15.1% year-on-year, with financing value reaching $21.43 billion, a dramatic 108.7% increase. The mining M&A market also rebounded strongly, with transaction values and deal counts both recovering significantly. Merger and acquisition transactions in major solid minerals reached $73.52 billion globally, up 150.4% year-on-year, while the number of transactions totaled 1,000, an increase of 46.0%.
National Mining Policies Continue Transformative Agenda
Major developed economies are accelerating the construction of systematic safeguard systems focused on critical mineral supply chain security. Their specific measures include: expanding critical mineral lists, expediting domestic permitting processes, deepening international collaboration, increasing equity investments and strategic stockpiles, adjusting trade and investment policies, institutionalizing green governance frameworks, and developing deep-sea resources. Resource-rich developing countries, meanwhile, are strengthening resource sovereignty through improved mining laws and governance, leveraging localization of processing, optimization of revenue distribution, regional coordination, investment incentives, and industry oversight to transform resource advantages into industrial competitiveness.
Technology and Innovation Drive Transformation Across the Entire Mining Chain
New-generation information technologies including artificial intelligence and big data are advancing rapidly, propelling the global mining industry into a period of systematic transformation driven by new productive forces. A closed-loop supply chain encompassing exploration, extraction, and recycling is rapidly taking shape. On the intelligence front, AI-assisted mineral exploration is entering产业化 application, the "space-air-ground-well" three-dimensional exploration system is maturing, autonomous mining trucks are being deployed at scale, and vertical large models for mines continue expanding their application scenarios. On the green development front, large mining operations are achieving full coverage of new-energy equipment across extraction and transport processes, micro-grid technology is reinforcing the foundation for zero-carbon mines, and recycling projects for power batteries and magnet waste are transitioning from strategic planning to scaled production capacity.
China Contributes Its Approach to Global Mining Sustainability
China is positioning international mining cooperation within its broader global development strategy, consistently upholding principles of openness, cooperation, and mutual benefit while coordinating its efforts around four major global initiatives. China serves both as a leader and driver of the global energy transition and as a builder and contributor to critical minerals governance. In resource cooperation, China continues expanding international geological and mining partnerships, having signed cooperation memoranda in the geological and mining sectors with more than 70 countries. Long-term mining cooperation mechanisms have been established with numerous nations, integrating resource development with local smelting and processing, infrastructure construction, and community development to build partnerships characterized by shared benefits and shared risks.
In technological innovation, China is leveraging its advantages in intelligent and green exploration, clean smelting, and comprehensive utilization. Self-developed technologies and equipment, including autonomous mining trucks, mine-specific large models, off-grid photovoltaic power systems for mines, and tailings resource recovery technologies, have been widely deployed across mining operations in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America, offering Chinese solutions for green and intelligent mining transformation worldwide. In mining governance, China actively participates in mining rule dialogues within multilateral frameworks including the United Nations, the International Energy Agency, and the G20. The Green Minerals International Economic and Trade Cooperation Initiative proposed by China has attracted more than 30 countries and international organizations as participants. China has also developed comprehensive mining standards such as the Sustainable Mining Code, and the more than 5,500 green mines it has established provide the world's largest practical demonstration of mining's green transformation.
Chinese mining enterprises are actively practicing ESG principles, deeply integrating community co-building, localized operations, and benefit-sharing mechanisms throughout the full life cycle of overseas projects. They are actively implementing the "Hundred Enterprises, Thousand Villages" social responsibility initiative under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, making significant contributions to economic growth in over a thousand African villages and towns and improving the livelihoods of local residents, demonstrating the responsibility and positive image of Chinese enterprises.
The global mining industry stands at a historic crossroads where multiple transformations converge. Green transition, technological revolution, and international governance deficits are相互交织 forces that will collectively shape the industry's future. Facing challenges including surging critical mineral demand and supply chain instability, China stands ready to work with all parties to deepen production capacity cooperation and technological sharing with resource-rich countries, promote international mutual recognition of smart mine and green mine standards, advocate for establishing fair, just, and transparent trade and investment rules for critical minerals, and promote the construction of an open, inclusive, equitable, win-win, green, and clean critical minerals governance system to jointly build a clean, beautiful, and prosperous world.