According to the China Geological Survey under the Ministry of Natural Resources, China has recently made new progress in mineral resource exploration, with breakthroughs achieved in both chromite and unconventional oil and gas exploration. The China Geological Survey stated that in the area covered by the Sartohai South mineral belt in Xinjiang, China has newly discovered the Sartohai 27 mineral cluster, delineating 20 ore bodies with an average grade of 30.73%, marking the largest mineral discovery in the region in nearly four decades. Chromite is a strategic mineral in short supply in China. It ranges in color from black to dark brown and has a metallic luster. It is primarily used in the smelting of special alloys containing elements such as cobalt, nickel, and tungsten, and is an indispensable material in the aviation, aerospace, automotive, and shipbuilding industries. In addition to the newly discovered chromite deposits, China has focused on the Permian shale formations in western Hubei, successfully achieving a breakthrough in commercial gas flow for unconventional oil and gas. This has opened up new stratigraphic units and types of unconventional gas, effectively expanding shale gas exploration from the Sichuan Basin to the western Hubei region. An additional 132.95 billion cubic meters of shale gas geological resources have been identified, further solidifying the resource foundation of the Western Hubei shale gas resource base. (CCTV News)