BEIJING - China set aside 33 billion yuan ($5.3 billion) from central and provincial budgets by the end of 2011 for mine exploration, the natural resources watchdog said Monday.

A Ministry of Land and Resources statement said the country put 26.8 billion yuan from the funds in mineral resources exploration in 4,674 projects between 2006 and 2011.

A total of 585 new mineral deposits were found during the period, including the discovery of a uranium mine in Inner Mongolia autonomous region, one of the world's largest, that could fuel the country's nuclear power.

In 2011, 8.5 billion yuan was invested, with the funds in mineral resources exploration taking up 86.3 percent of the country's total fiscal investment in exploration that year.

The funds have developed into the bulk of China's fiscal input in mineral exploration, according to the MLR statement.

The country began to raise money for mineral exploration in 2006, and 26 provincial-level governments have set up funds so far, in addition to the central fund.