Spatiotemporal mapping of ultrabasic/basic magmatic mines in China: implicates the political and economy realities

The spatiotemporal extent/expansion of mine areas reflects the history of mineral extraction and mirrors the growth of the economy and society. However, lack of comprehensive study that examines the interaction between mine areas and political or economic realities. The ultrabasic/basic magmatic mines in China played a significant role in supporting national development and provide an ideal research subject for monitoring their interrelationship. In this study, we used remote sensing and mining-related GIS data to identify and analyse 1,233 ultrabasic/basic magmatic deposit sites in China, covering approximately 322.96 km² of land and including deposits of V-Ti-Fe, copper-nickel, chromite, asbestos, and diamonds. We found that (1) the areal expansion of mine sites is significantly related to the perimeter, topography, and population density, according to the Least Squares Regression Model. (2) Conversely, the variation of mine area may also reflect both market and policy conditions. The temporal expansion of mine area from 2010 to 2020 followed an S-shape pattern (turning point 2014), closely related to iron overcapacity and tightening mining policies. (3) The complexity (D) of mine area may indicate mine design and excavation practices, with lower D indicating early-stage or artisanal/small-scale mining, and higher D values potentially indicating larger-scale mining. This study demonstrates that the characteristic of mine area can serve as indicators of mining-related market and policy changes.