This article explores Adam Schall von Bell’s Investigations of the Earth’s Interior (Kunyu gezhi 坤輿格致, 1639–1640), a significant Jesuit work aimed at reforming the Chinese mining and smelting industry by introducing relevant European technologies during the late Ming period. After being lost for centuries, the recent rediscovery of a partial manuscript housed in the Nanjing Library has reinvigorated scholarly interest in this treatise. The authors present findings on the manuscript’s origins, dating, and its reliance on Georgius Agricola’s De re metallica alongside other Renaissance works, such as those by Lazarus Ercker or Vannoccio Biringuccio. They challenge claims that the Investigations of the Earth’s Interior introduced the Western concept of “minerals” (kuangwu 礦物) to China, arguing that the term retained its traditional meaning of “ores and materials.” Additionally, the article presents new historical documents revealing attempts to implement the treatise’s methods and the bureaucratic challenges that prevented its widespread adoption. These topics shed light on the Investigations of the Earth’s Interior’s role in early global knowledge transmission and its potential impact on China’s mining and metallurgical practices during the Ming-Qing transition.