China's central government will allocate 10 billion yuan, or about US$120 million, to set up a fund next year to prospect metals in short supply, said an official from the Ministry of Land and Resources yesterday.

The money will be mainly used in exploring copper, aluminium, plumbum and zinc resources, said Liu Lianhe, vice-director of the geological prospecting department of the Ministry.

Due to the high risks, foreign and commercial capitals are entering the metal prospecting sector slowly, said Liu. The prospecting process often takes between four to six years, and usually, 95 out of 100 projects fail.

"We expect the state investment will draw more commercial money into this sector," said Liu.