Tibet's complex topography and widely varying climates result in an abundance of natural resources. Snow mountains and valleys and the North Tibet Plateau house a wide variety of minerals.

There are more than 90 known mineral types in Tibet. The total reserves of 26 of these have been verified, with that of 11 ranking among the top five in China by province or region.

The region's 2,500 square kilometers of chromite (a kind of ore) deposits, concentrated along the Lake Banggong Co to the Nujiang River rift zone in northern Tibet and along the Yarlung Zangbo River rift zone, are the most in China. The Norbusa Chromite Mine in the Shannan Prefecture has become a chromite production base.

Tibet's prospective lithium deposits are among the most in the world and the region serves as China's lithium production base. Prospective copper and gypsum reserves rank second in China; boron, magnesite, barite, and arsenic, third; mica and peat, fourth; and kaolin, fifth.

Other significant mineral deposits include salt, natural soda, mirabilite, sulfur, phosphorus, potassium, diatomaceous earth, Iceland spar, corundum, rock quartz, and agate.