我国青海、西藏、新疆、内蒙古等西部地区盐湖分布广泛,盐湖中蕴藏着丰富的钾、镁、锂、硼等盐类资源,潜在经济价值极大。开发利用这些资源对于西部地区经济发展、社会稳定和满足国家对钾、锂、镁、硼等的需求具有重要的现实意义。要认真考虑西部地区自然生态条件的脆弱性,一定要本着可持续发展原则搞好盐湖资源开发。在发展盐湖钾肥工业的同时,要高度重视和解决共生资源的综合利用。
介绍了我国盐湖资源现状,分析了国民经济发展对盐湖资源的需求情况,讨论了制约盐湖资源开发利用的重大科技问题。在介绍国内外盐湖科技发展现状与趋势的基础上,提出了盐湖资源综合利用的基本思路、科技发展目标,以及技术示范基地建设、支撑条件等方面的建议与政策措施。指出现阶段盐湖资源开发利用的主要力量应放在占我国总钾资源97%的柴达木盆地,通过加强盐湖资源开发科技攻关和加快产业化进程,解决制约盐湖钾、锂、镁、硼等资源的综合利用问题,加快盐湖资源综合利用工程示范基地的建设,在此基础上建设综合利用钾、锂、镁、硼等资源的现代化企业,为可持续开发西部资源做贡献。

Salt lakes are widely distributed across China' s western Qinghai, Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, with rich resources of potassium, magnesium, lithium and boron. They have huge economic potential. Exploitation and utilization of these resources will play an important and realistic role in developing the economy, stabilizing the social condition of western areas and meeting the country' s requirements for potassium, lithium, magnesium and boron. Consideration should be given to the fragile natural ecological conditions of the western areas and principle of sustainable development should be followed to optimize the development, at the same time, attention should be paid to comprehensive utilization of co-existing resources when developing potassium fertilizers from salt lakes.
At present the main strength of salt lake resource development should be focused on Qaidam basin which occupies 97% of China' s total potash deposit. Research on development of salt lake resources should be stressed and progress of industrialization must be also accelerated to solve problems that have checked the comprehensive utilization of potassium, lithium, magnesium and boron. The construction of the example production base will speed up. On the basis of these precursory works a modern enterprise will be established to exploit potassium, lithium, magnesium and boron, which can contribute to the sustainable development of resources in western areas.