China closes down 8,000 illegal mines this year

More than 8,000 illegal mines have been closed down in the end of September in a bid to rectify China's mining industry and optimize the utilization of mineral resources, Vice Minister Wang Min of Land and Resources said in Beijing on Tuesday.

He warned at the 2006 China International Mining Conference that clamping down on illegal mines, either unlicensed or conducting unauthorized prospect and exploitation, would continue to top the agenda of the ministry in years to come.

Wang said that the utilization of mineral resources in China is "getting better" as the year's crackdown campaign was quite deterrent.

The ministry has so far detected 65,313 unlicensed mines, 4,509 unauthorized excavations, 960 unauthorized prospect and 1,365 illegal transfer of mining rights.

A regulation issued earlier this year stipulates that mine developers are liable to secure the rational utilization of mineral resources, treat damaged environment and meet safety production standards.

Mine developers will have to submit what authorities called "environment treatment rehabilitation and treatment reserve" in proportion to their sales revenue.

The specific ratio and other relevant measures are under discussion by the Ministries of Finance, Land and Resources and State Administration of Environmental Protection.

China is the world's largest producer of coal, steel, copper, aluminum and cement. Last year, it produced seven billion tons of mineral ore and generated an aggregated production value of 1.48 trillion yuan.

Over the first nine months, the production of raw coal, coke, iron ore, non-ferrous metals, phosphorite and cement all registered a double digit growth, with the iron ore growing by the highest 37.7 percent.

China, over the same period, exported 48.07 million tons of coal and imported 109 million tons of crude oil and 247 million tons of iron ore. Last year, the imports and export volume of mineral products hit 307.5 billion U.S. dollars, about 21 percent of the total foreign trade.

"The mining industry, spurred by the robust demand and production capacity, is emerging as a crucial engine of China's sizzling economic growth," Wang said, adding that only one third of the country's mineral reserve has been proven on the whole.

Vast land in central and western China is to be prospected while the exploitation in most of the mines in eastern region is only conducted at a level about three to five hundred below the earth, he said.

To optimize the utilization of mineral resources, Wang said that mergers and acquisitions are "encouraged", citing that the numbers of collieries and bauxite mines in central China's Henan Province have dropped 62 percent and 64 percent respectively this year.

He reiterated China's policy of opening up the mining industry to foreign investors, revealing that Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai seemed most appealing to overseas investors.

In Tarim Basin, for instance, nine oil blocks have been open to foreign investors. So far, France-based Total Petroleum, Dutch-based Shell International and UK-headquartered BG Group have signed joint exploitation deals in China.

Wang said that China would encourage foreign investors to invest in the mining sector to facilitate the trade of mineral products and services and borrow experiences and advanced technology from overseas.

"But the liabilities of environmental protection and rational utilization of mineral resources should never be ignored," he said.

China's central government has planned to channel 753 million yuan this year to environmental treatment of abandoned mines. The figure was 300 million yuan more than last year.

Source: Xinhua