Discussion on the Copper Resource Reserve Scale and the Layout of Reserve Base in China

Abstract

This article measured the reasonable scale of copper resource land reserves in China using the safety stock theory based on the commodity safety stock theory and analyzed the reasonable scale under different circumstances. In combination with the current situation and future development trend of China’s copper industry and through analysis, the appropriate scale of copper resource land reserves in China is between 5–6 million tons for future use. The analytic hierarchy process is used to establish the evaluation model of the spatial layout of copper resource land reserves and make a comprehensive evaluation of mineral resource land reserves in 30 provinces (cities and districts). The study shows that among these provinces, Yunnan, Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia, Anhui, and Gansu contain the most amount of copper resource land reserves. Therefore, copper mines (deposits) in these five provinces (regions) can be selected and included in the mineral resource land reserve plan. Tibet and Xinjiang have huge copper reserves and good prospecting potential, but some mines in such provinces cannot be used because the natural conditions are unfavorable. Therefore, appropriate copper mines (deposits) should be selected and included in the long-term mineral resource land reserve plan