Measurement and Analysis of the Digitalization Level in China’s Mineral Resources Industry

With the acceleration of global digitalization, the mineral resources industry, as a fundamental and strategic sector, plays a critical role in promoting China’s high-quality economic development and ensuring the security of global industrial chains. Within the framework of growth accounting, an industry-specific methodology for measuring digitalization was constructed, and a systematic analysis was conducted using data from 2002–2023. The findings indicate that: (1) the level of digitalization in China’s mineral resources industry has continuously increased, with the growth rate of digital economy value added markedly exceeding that of the industry as a whole; (2) substantial heterogeneity exists within the industry, as mining and beneficiation generally outperform smelting and processing, with oil and gas and coal extraction advancing most rapidly, whereas metal mining has remained persistently lagging; (3) decomposition of the Theil index shows that disparities are mainly derived from within-industry differences, which have gradually converged, reflecting both digital technology diffusion and the catch-up effect. The contribution of this study lies in the development of a more refined measurement framework, through which intra-industry disparities and convergence trends are systematically identified. Such findings are not only of practical relevance for advancing the digital transformation of China’s mineral resources industry, but also provide new empirical evidence and comparative perspectives for international research in mineral economics. Consequently, the results offer a valuable reference for promoting the sustainable transformation of the global mineral resources industry. JEL Classification Codes: Q31; Q32; O33