China's biggest lead and zinc mine has been discovered in the northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, state-run Xinhua News agency reported on Sunday.

The deposit, which is located 5,500 kilometers above sea level in the district of Hotan in Southern Xinjiang, has nearly 19 million tons of lead and zinc reserves, according to Xinhua citing a statement from the Xinjiang Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources.

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Local geologists first discovered the deposit, which spans at 6.6 square kilometer, in 2011. Experts conducted surveys for nearly six years and found that more than 99 percent are exploitable.

Lead and zinc, which are primarily used in chemicals, electronics, machinery, light industry, and pharmaceuticals, have been found in 27 Chinese provinces and regions, concentrated most in southwestern Yunna province, northwestern Gansu, and Inner Mongolia.

Meanwhile, a huge gold mine with 100 tons of deposit has been found in Tongbo county, Central China's Henan Province, Global Times reported.

The gold mine, which has the life of 80 years, was discovered while authorities were exploring for metal mines in Tongbo in mid-September.

The mine is believed to have 100 tons of gold and 120 tons of silver. Other mineral resources such as alkali, lead, and zinc were found.

But, the Bureau of Geo-exploration and Mineral Development of Henan Province predicts that the mine has potential to have between 200 and 250 tons of gold and 5,000 tons of silver.

A Weibo account named Caijinren under the China Gold News revealed that the exploration project has an investment of 80 million yuan ($11.9 million); however, the discovery of the mine, which is likely to become the third major gold exploration base in Henan, will potentially see an economic return of 25 billion yuan ($3.75 billion).

Tagslead mine, zinc mine, gold mine, mineral reserves, china