Non-ferrous metal industry

Generally more costly than ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals are used because of its desirable properties such as low weight (e.g. aluminium), higher conductivity (e.g. copper), non-magnetic property or resistance to corrosion (e.g. zinc). As a province rich in nonferrous metals and non-metallic minerals, Qinghai has an output of 1.14 million tons of aluminum in the first six months of this year, making it a major domestic metal smelting and deep processing base. The added value of the industry rose by 6.7 percent year on year.