Abstract:Abstract:There are plentiful mineral resources in Qinghai Province, China. The sustainable development strategy and planning of the mineral resources should be worked out on the basis of the geo-environment vulnerability assessment. This paper analyzes the geo-environment issues and geo-hazards in Qinghai. The assessment framework of the geo-environment vulnerability in Qinghai was established. The basic assessment principles, criteria and geological indicators for the geo-environment vulnerability were proposed under this framework. The geo-environment vulnerability evaluation in Qinghai was carried out by using the new SMCE function modules of ILWIS, which is a GIS software developed by ITC. The results indicate that the prospect areas of mineral resources are located in areas of low geo-environment vulnerability. This means that geo-environmental conditions have major constraining effects on the future mineral development in Qinghai.