The annual academic grand event, hosted by Ge Honglin, the Party Secretary and President of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, brings together many academicians and top experts and scholars in the nonferrous metals industry, providing a high-end exchange platform for the industry's scientific and technological workers that integrates the collision of innovative ideas and the sharing of intellectual achievements. This year's annual meeting attracted over 1,500 participants, setting new records in both the scale of the conference and the number of attendees. In addition to enterprises, research institutes and universities within the non-ferrous metals system, many enterprises and universities outside the system have been newly added. This reflects from the side that the technological atmosphere in the non-ferrous metals industry is strong, its role and status have significantly improved, and the attention and participation of all sectors of society in the non-ferrous metals industry are constantly increasing. The cross-integration of the non-ferrous metals industry with strategic emerging industries and other industries is also strengthening. The vitality of technological innovation in the industry has been continuously released.
The development trend of the non-ferrous metals industry is positive and promising
Non-ferrous metals are important strategic resources for the country and also fundamental materials and key supports for the national economy, national defense construction, and the development of strategic emerging industries. In recent years, the high-quality development of the non-ferrous metals industry has achieved remarkable results, benefiting from the breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation, the vigorous development of new quality productive forces such as the "new three types", the steady advancement of international cooperation under the "Belt and Road Initiative", and the support of the national policy to expand domestic demand. The return on total assets of the industry has been higher than the national industrial average for four consecutive years, and the industry's added value, revenue and profit rank among the top in the national industrial sector. In the first half of this year, the production of the non-ferrous metals industry generally maintained growth. The output of ten kinds of non-ferrous metals was 40.319 million tons, increasing by approximately 2.9% year-on-year. The added value growth rate of the non-ferrous metal industry above designated size increased by approximately 7.6% year-on-year. Fixed asset investment increased by 16.1% compared with the same period last year, 5.8 percentage points higher than the growth rate of national industrial investment. Large-scale non-ferrous metal enterprises achieved operating income of 4.79 trillion yuan, an increase of 14.9% compared with the same period last year. The total profit was 217.85 billion yuan, increasing by 15.0% year-on-year.
The scientific and technological innovation achievements in the non-ferrous metals industry are remarkable
In recent years, the non-ferrous metals industry has been focusing on national strategic demands, adhering to the leadership of scientific and technological innovation, strengthening forward-looking basic research and original technological innovation, and concentrating on breaking through the "bottleneck" technological problems. As a result, a continuous emergence of scientific and technological innovation achievements has been made, and the innovation capacity has been continuously enhanced, laying a solid foundation for cultivating and developing new quality productive forces. Fifteen major scientific and technological achievements in the non-ferrous metals industry won the National Science and Technology Awards in 2023, setting a new record for the number of awards won in a year. The award-winning projects cover key areas such as intelligent mines, low-carbon metallurgy, new energy materials, and high-end equipment, highlighting significant progress in the industry's technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.
First, new progress has been made in the efficient development and utilization of mineral resources. The theory and method of combined dynamic and static loading fracture of rocks provide important theoretical and technical support for the safe and efficient development of deep resources. The key technologies and equipment for intelligent mining of underground metal mines realize the intelligence of mining equipment and real-time dispatching, providing technical and equipment support for green, intelligent, safe and efficient mining. The "Innovative Technology of Multi-dimensional Precise Regulation for Efficient Flotation Separation of Metal Oxide Ores" realizes the efficient separation and enrichment of complex metal oxide ores, ensuring the security of the supply chain of strategic metals such as titanium, lithium, copper and cobalt in China.
Second, new breakthroughs have been made in green and low-carbon smelting technologies. The green and low-carbon level of the non-ferrous metals industry has been significantly enhanced. The technology of aluminum electrolysis process equipment leads global development and has achieved overall export. More than 95% of the domestic copper, lead and zinc smelting capacity adopts green and low-carbon production processes. The side-blowing + top-blowing technology for copper smelting and the hydrometallurgical process technology for laterite nickel ore have achieved "going global", leading the technological progress of the global industry. New breakthroughs have been made in rare earth separation and purification technologies such as magnesium bicarbonate separation and purification and integrated leaching of ion-type rare earth ores, driving the low-carbon transformation and development of the rare earth industry.
Third, major breakthroughs have been made in the research and development of high-end materials. We have successfully developed advanced aluminum alloys, titanium alloys and high-temperature alloys with higher strength, lighter weight and better heat resistance. For instance, the new high-strength and high-toughness aluminum-lithium alloy has significantly reduced the weight of aircraft structures, and high-performance titanium alloys have been applied to key components of aero engines. The purification technology of ultra-high-purity metals is constantly improving. For instance, high-end and high-purity materials such as 7N-level high-purity indium for 5G communication chips and 6N-level high-purity copper for integrated circuits have been applied in batches. Large-sized ultra-high-purity nickel-platinum and other target materials have broken the foreign technological monopoly and achieved independent control. High-end rare earth alloys, high-performance rare earth permanent magnetic materials and other high-end products have broken the monopoly and entered the international mainstream market.
Adhere to innovation-driven development and accelerate the cultivation and development of new quality productive forces
With the vigorous development of new quality productive forces represented by strategic emerging industries and future industries, the development prospects and space of the non-ferrous metals industry are increasingly broad. It can be said that the opportunities far outweigh the challenges. In particular, the accelerated rise and deep integration in fields such as new energy, advanced materials, and high-end equipment have injected new development momentum into the non-ferrous metals industry.
The first is to adhere to supporting and serving the national strategic orientation. We should focus on the major strategic demands of national development, adhere to innovation-driven leadership, accelerate the creation of original technology sources, and strive to smooth out the innovation activity chain from basic research, applied research to technology transfer and industrial application. We should concentrate our efforts on making breakthroughs in key areas such as strategic mineral exploration and efficient development, green and low-carbon metallurgy, ultra-high-purity metal preparation, high-end alloy materials, rare earth functional materials, advanced material preparation, and high-end equipment manufacturing, and break through a number of key core technologies, frontier leading technologies and even disruptive technologies. To build high-level innovation platforms, we should promote in-depth integration of industry, academia, research and application, enhance coordination among the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, and strengthen the independent control capacity of key materials and core equipment, so that scientific and technological innovation can truly become the primary driving force for the development of the industry.
Second, we must persist in laying a solid foundation for the security of key mineral resources. At present, the global landscape is undergoing profound adjustments, with geopolitical conflicts, the rise of trade protectionism, and the continuous intensification of competition for key mineral resources. The non-ferrous metals industry should take "breakthroughs in mineral exploration" as its core strategic task, focus on strategic mineral resources such as copper, nickel, cobalt and rare earths, adhere to innovation-driven development, achieve major breakthroughs in exploration and development, and elevate the improvement of resource guarantee capacity to the strategic height of safeguarding the security of the national industrial chain and supply chain and enhancing the initiative in strategic games, so as to provide solid mineral resource support for building a new development pattern.
Third, we must persist in fully implementing green, low-carbon and circular development. We should continuously deepen the green and low-carbon transformation, vigorously develop advanced and applicable technologies and disruptive technologies such as energy conservation and carbon reduction, clean production, and in-depth treatment of pollutants, and focus on disruptive process innovation and process reengineering. Promote the optimization of the energy structure and the application of energy-saving and carbon-reduction technologies, and build a green and low-carbon industrial system covering the entire life cycle from mines to materials. Enhance the comprehensive utilization efficiency of complex resources, accelerate the development of the recycled non-ferrous metals industry, build a more complete circular economy industrial chain, and achieve a win-win situation of economic and ecological benefits in the non-ferrous metals industry.
Fourth, strengthen digital and intelligent empowerment in the non-ferrous metals industry. We should further promote the in-depth application of new-generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things and 5G throughout the entire industrial chain, including mining, smelting and processing, material research and development, quality control and supply chain management. We should promote the construction of digital mines, intelligent factories and smart enterprises, and cultivate and create a number of demonstration enterprises and typical application scenarios for digital transformation. We should utilize digital means to optimize resource allocation, achieve precise control and flexible manufacturing, meet personalized and diversified market demands, and create new business forms and models for the development of the non-ferrous metals industry.
The fifth is to intensify the efforts of collaborative innovation. We should promptly distill the common scientific and technological challenges in the industry, overcome the common problems in resource guarantee, modernization of industry equipment, advanced new materials of non-ferrous metals, and sustainable development of the industry, and bring about more original works from "0 to 1". In the competition among major countries, we should add tools for the non-ferrous metals industry to our "toolbox". It is necessary to enhance the collaborative innovation of scientific and technological forces in the industry and reduce and avoid repetitive and low-level research.
Sixth, strengthen international exchanges and cooperation. We should deeply integrate into the "Belt and Road Initiative" proposed by the country and enhance exchanges and cooperation with international counterparts in areas such as technical standards, resource development, and low-carbon technologies. Actively layout high-quality overseas resources and build a diversified, stable and reliable resource supply guarantee system; Cultivate leading enterprises and brands with international influence, and accelerate the enhancement of the non-ferrous metals industry's say and influence in the international arena.
The seventh is to strengthen the cultivation of innovative talents in the industry. At present, the situation of major power competition is complex and severe. The international competition for high-quality talents and scientific and technological commanding heights is unprecedentedly fierce. There is an urgent need for more high-level scientific research achievements and high-level talents as support. We should give full play to the respective advantages of industry enterprises, research institutes and universities, further promote the integration of industry and education as well as the convergence of science and education, focus on building an innovative practice platform for in-depth collaboration between schools and enterprises, promote the synchronous development of talent cultivation, scientific and technological innovation and the upgrading of the non-ferrous metals industry, and smooth the virtuous cycle of education, science and technology and talent in the non-ferrous metals industry. Gather more talent resources to cultivate and develop new quality productivity in the industry.
Give full play to the platform and hub role of the Nonferrous Metals Society
Over the years, the China Nonferrous Metals Society, as an academic, popular science and public welfare social organization, has fully played the role of a bridge and link, and has played an important role in promoting academic exchanges, scientific and technological services, and talent cultivation in the industry. Looking to the future, it is hoped that the society will keep in mind its founding purpose, strengthen its sense of mission and responsibility, and build itself into a "home for society members" and a "home for nonferrous metal science and technology workers".
The first is to adhere to academic guidance. Focusing on the pain points, difficulties and bottlenecks in the development of the industry, we will carefully organize more high-level academic exchanges and popular science activities, organize cross-disciplinary and cross-field joint research and development, and provide high-quality scientific and technological services.
The second is to build a platform for talent cultivation. Discover, cultivate and recommend outstanding scientific and technological talents, and through the Youth Talent Support Program and other means, help the industry build a well-structured and dynamic talent echelon.
The third is to strengthen self-construction. Further strengthen team building, continuously improve service capabilities and levels, persistently hold brand activities well, and enhance the cohesion, influence and credibility of the society.
