Carrying capacity of mineral resources of counties based on DEA: A case study of resource-based counties in Hu'nan Province

Based on an analysis of the characteristics of mineral resources supporting social and economic development, the carrying capacity of mineral resources is defined as the capability of regional mineral resources to maintain economic and social development in a certain period of time, on the premise of minimizing the loss of resources and ecological environment, leaking 20 resource-based counties (cities and districts) in Hu'nan Province as an example on the basis of DEA, the authors selected the area of destroyed land, the amount of ore mined and the amount of sewage discharged as input indicators, and mining employment and mining economy as output indicators. The research shows that the carrying capacity of mineral resources can be divided into five levels, and the main factors affecting the carrying capacity of mineral resources are the strong pollution of "three wastes" and the low treatment rate, the serious situation of occupying and destroying land resources in mineral resources exploitation, the weak mining economy and the mining structure which should be optimized. The empirical research shows that DEA model can quantitatively evaluate the carrying capacity of mineral resources and objectively reflect the short plate elements of carrying capacity of mineral resources.