China is one of the countries richest in limestone resources. Deposits are found in every province, municipality, and autonomous region, with the exceptions of Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macao. According to statistics from the Geological Center of the former State Administration of Building Materials Industry, the total area of limestone distribution across the country covers 438,000 square kilometers (excluding the Tibet Autonomous Region and Taiwan Province), accounting for approximately one-twentieth of the national land area. Of this total, limestone resources suitable for use as cement raw materials constitute roughly one-quarter to one-third. The volume of limestone available for cement production is expected to decrease further due to the need for environmental protection, ecological balance, soil and water conservation, and the preservation of scenic and tourist areas-particularly as planning for the development of small towns in my country continues to be refined and implemented.
Nationwide, between 7,000 and 8,000 deposit sites for cement-grade limestone have been identified. Of these, 1,286 sites have proven reserves, categorized as follows: 257 large-scale deposits, 481 medium-scale deposits, and 486 small-scale deposits (classification is based on ore reserves: large-scale > 80 million tonnes; medium-scale 40–80 million tonnes; small-scale < 40 million tonnes). The total retained ore reserves amount to 54.2 billion tonnes, comprising 50.4 billion tonnes of limestone (93%) and 3.8 billion tonnes of marble (7%). These retained reserves are widely distributed across 29 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions (excluding Shanghai). Shaanxi Province holds the largest reserves at 4.9 billion tonnes. It is followed by Anhui Province, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Sichuan Province (including Chongqing Municipality), each holding between 3.0 and 3.4 billion tonnes. Seven provinces-Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Guangdong, Liaoning, Hunan, and Hubei-each hold between 2.0 and 3.0 billion tonnes. Thirteen provinces-Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Fujian, Shanxi, Xinjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, and Gansu-each hold between 1.0 and 2.0 billion tonnes. Finally, five regions-Beijing, Ningxia, Hainan, Tibet, and Tianjin-each hold between 0.5 and 2.0 billion tonnes.