Abstract:  Copper is an important nonferrous metalsoft, malleable, and ductile with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Copper is also an important building material and component of various metal alloys. It is widely used as raw material in modern industry such as highspeed train and machine manufacturing. China is rich in copper resources, with 99.10 Mt identified copper reserves and an yearly increase of 3.92 Mt at the end of 2015. Guided by modern metallogenic geological theory of minerogenetic series, we performed comprehensive survey of copper prediction types of levelIII metallogenetic belts in China. We also completed copper resource potential assessment, utilizing geological prospecting information including geophysical, geochemical and remote sensing data, and GIS technology. Based on the metallogenetic findings, we identified 63 metallogenic belts, developed 9 copper prediction models and outlined 379 prediction areas. The total predicted copper resources were approximately 307.00 Mt to a maximum depth of 2000 m in 30 provinces. Of which, 59.52 Mt are in the Tibet Autonomous Region, representing nearly 28.5% of Chinas potential copper resource. In summary, Chinas rich copper resource has a wide and relatively concentrated distribution with distinctive spatiotemporal characteristicscontrolled spatially by the tectonic evolution while the main metallogenic epochs are the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Among the nine copper prediction types, the porphyry and skarn types have a larger share of the copper reserves and are key prospecting types in the future. The predicting resources are concentrated in the northwest region and lowermiddle reaches of the Yangtze River with tremendous deep resources potential.

Key words:  copper, metallogenic belt, metallogenic type, prediction model, resource potential