BEIJING, Mar. 23 -- China had proven iron ore reserves of 62.4 billion tons as of Mar. 21, and its unproven iron ore reserves exceeded 200 billion tons, according to the results of a conference held by Ministry of Land and Resources on Mar. 21.

The country's iron ore output increased from 260 million tons in 2003 to 880 million tons in 2009, reflecting an increase of more than 20%.

Wang Min, vice minister of the ministry, said that it will increase its investment and reinforce management in the iron ore industry in the near future.

China has injected a total of RMB 192 billion into the development of iron ore since the beginning of 2003, and the country is in the process of building many iron ore projects whose annual output will total 480 million tons. 

Reportedly, several iron ore mines were recently discovered. Most of them are in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province.