China has discovered huge resources of vital minerals buried in the Tibetan plateau, locating more than 600 potential sites for new mines, according to state media reports.

A new survey published this week suggests the plateau has reserves of 30 to 40 million tonnes of copper, 40 million tonnes of lead and zinc and several billion tonnes of iron ore, the China Daily reported.

"Once mines are developed they will greatly relieve the strain on China's existing resources," said Zhang Hongtao, deputy director of the China Geological Survey, which carried out the investigation.

It took seven years, 1,000 scientists, and "a lot of hiking" to complete the survey, and it has not even covered all of the Tibetan plateau yet.

More than half its 2.6 million square kilometers (one million square miles) still remains to be surveyed, according to the paper.

Many of the area's mineral reserves have previously been deemed out of reach as the plateau is located at an average 4,300 meters (14,100 feet) above sea level.

The establishment of a railway line in July last year linking Tibet's capital of Lhasa with China's densely populated central and eastern region is believed to change this, making transportation significantly easier.