The Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi, where Qaidam Basin is located, absorbed 1 billion yuan (US$120 million) of investment this year from Australia, Italy, New Zealand and China's coastal areas, said Ren Zonggao, a prefecture government official.

Most investors are opening up gold and iron mines or are involved in potash fertilizer production, he added.

Abundant reserves of oil, natural gas, borax, asbestos, gypsum and metals have earned Qaidam the reputation of a "treasure basin". The region leads China in potassium, magnesium, sodium and lithium reserves. The Qarhan Lake at Qaidam has 60 billion tons of salt, enough for worldwide consumption for 2,000 years. Chinese geologists have discovered 22 oilfields and six gasfields with a total reserve of 225 million tons of oil and 150 billion cubic meters of gas.

Sino-Mining International of Australia, the first foreign company to arrive in Qaidam for venture prospecting, has invested US$2.1 million into prospecting gold mines at Tanjianshan. The second phase of the project will involve spending between US$20 million and US$35 million.

"Owing to the remoteness of the area and its lack of development, prospecting natural resources at Qaidam is still in the fledgling stage, which provides excellent opportunities for overseas companies with a lot of cash and advanced technology," said George Jiang who is in charge of the project.

Gold mine prospecting at Tanjianshan is only the beginning of large scale investment there and will lay a solid foundation for the exploitation of other resources in Qaidam, he added.

Prospecting in the 370-square-kilometer area shows that the gold reserve is roughly the same as China's estimate of 50 tons, Jiang said.

He predicted that a gold mine with an annual production capacity of three tons will be built within three years.

Agip China Co. of Italy is to invest US$8 million to develop an oil and gas project in the Sebei area.

To accelerate the development of Qaidam Basin, the government of Qinghai has developed a series of preferential policies in terms of land use and taxation for domestic and foreign investors.

Construction of new roads is high on the agenda of the provincial government. The building of a highway linking Qaidam with Xining, the provincial capital, and other provinces is underway, said Wang Tingdong, the deputy director of the provincial communications bureau.

Already a sound infrastructure system is taking shape. A number of new towns and new roads have been built in Qaidam.

Liu Zhongmin, the manager of a Hong Kong-funded sylvite company, said, "The investment environment at Qaidam is much better than I expected. And our local partners are enthusiastic, straightforward, efficient and trustworthy."

(Xinhua 12/12/2000)