Northwest China's Qinghai province plans to invest nearly RMB18 billion(USD 2.82 billion) in the coming five years to exploit its rich mineral resources, the local government said Saturday.

According to the province's plan for geological prospecting during the 2011-2015 period, Qinghai has budgeted RMB 17.9 billion  for excavating coal, iron, gold, potassium salt, copper, lead, zinc and cobalt, the provincial land and resources department said in a press release.

It said at least RMB 10 billion of the investment will be coming from mining companies and other funds,RMB 5 billion  will be appropriated by the central treasury, and the remaining RMB 2.5 billion will be allocated by the provincial treasury.

The budget is more than five times the 2006-2010 spending, which totaled RMB 3.4 billion , the document said.

Qinghai province has reported new discoveries of coal, iron ore, gold and silver reserves in the past five years, and geologists see huge potentials for further excavation.

The province also boasts rich hydropower, petroleum, natural gas and non-ferrous metal resources.