TIANJIN -- China's foreign trade volume of mineral products rose sharply in the first three quarters this year, a senior official disclosed at the 12th China Mining Conference & Expo that opened Tuesday.

Imported and exported mineral products increased 49 percent year-on-year to $524 billion in the first nine months of the year, out-pacing last year's total of $499 billion, said Wang Min, Vice Minister of Land and Resources.

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Mineral products account for one-quarter of China's total foreign trade volume, with imports and exports rising 49.5 percent and 47.7 percent, respectively, according to Wang.

At the same time, China's foreign trade volume totaled $2,149 billion during the first nine months of this year, with import rising 42 percent and export rising 34 percent, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs .

Further, crude oil imports rose 24.1 percent year-on-year to 191 million tons in the first nine months of 2010, while coal imports jumped 42.2 percent to 122 million tons during the same period, Wang said.

However, iron ore imports during the first nine months dwindled 2.5 percent from the same period last year to 458 million tons, Wang added.