This book provides a comprehensive overview of mineral resource targeting and assessment based on the mineral systems approach. It presents prediction and evaluation methods for six major types of mineral systems—magmatic, magmatic hydrothermal, volcanic, strata‑bound endogenic, sedimentary, and sedimentary metamorphic—each illustrated with case studies from China, offering practical guidance for researchers and practitioners in teaching, resource prediction, and assessment.

The book opens with fundamental theories and methods for regional metallogenic analysis and quantitative mineral potential assessment, together with integrated information evaluation workflows. It then addresses critical technologies, including geological formation analysis, geophysical and geochemical data processing and interpretation, remote sensing applications, and quantitative prediction techniques. Dedicated chapters subsequently detail the classification, prediction models, and evaluation procedures for each of the six mineral system types, all supported by regional‑scale application examples.

A key feature is a database of 25 major mineral systems occurring in China, built upon multiple GIS layers comprising 1:200,000‑scale geological, geochemical, and geophysical maps and remote sensing imagery. These data are the outcome of a nationwide survey conducted in China from 2006 to 2013, whose primary objective was to define criteria for country‑scale assessment and targeting of mineral resources.

Prof. Keyan Xiao is associated with the Institute of Mineral Resources (IMR) at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (CAGS). He is the Director of the Metallogenic Prospective Division and Deputy of the Key Laboratory of Metallogeny and Mineral Assessment Division of the IMR. He also holds the position of Secretary-General of the Metallogeny and Mineral Prediction Center at China Geological Survey (CGS), Deputy Director of the Mathematical Geology Professional Committee at CGS, and Vice-Chairman of the International Society of Geomathematics in China. Prof. Xiao's research interests are mathematical geology and mineral resource prediction and assessment. He has published five books and over 100 co-authored papers on mineral prospectivity and has been awarded several times by the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) for his work on predicting the location of mineral deposits throughout China.