Recently, Qinghai Province held a press conference on the illegal mining in the Muli mining area reported by the media. Relevant officials stated that Qinghai has established an investigation team to conduct investigations and verifications, and will strictly enforce the law. Any violations of laws and disciplines discovered during the investigation, regardless of who is involved or at what level, will be thoroughly investigated and will not be condoned or concealed.
Human survival and development require the acquisition of resources from nature; at the same time, human survival and development also require the protection of the ecological environment. After entering the industrial age, the relationship between mineral resource development and ecological environmental protection has long been a paradox. However, today, with the continuous development of science and technology, the continuous improvement of laws and regulations, and the progress of human ideas, this paradox is gradually evolving into a harmonious symbiosis and coordinated development relationship. Especially after the important development concept of "ecological priority and green development" was put forward, we have a new perspective and basis to examine and consider the relationship between the two.
Fact: The impact of mineral development on the ecological environment objectively exists.
A reporter interviewed authoritative experts in the mineral resources industry. The experts stated that, to be realistic, once mineral resources are developed and utilized, they will inevitably have varying degrees of impact on the mining area and surrounding areas, and this impact is multi-layered and three-dimensional.
Overall, mineral resource development will affect the ecological environment in several aspects: surface environment, hydroclimate, solid waste, and geological conditions. Long-term occupation, destruction, and pollution of land by mining will change the regional water system structure, destroy the flora and fauna, and trigger a series of socio-economic and ecological and environmental problems. This is the fundamental reason why mineral resource development has become a focal issue in the face of environmental and development challenges.
A large amount of rubble is piled up on the ground at the Lamahan Mountain silver-lead-zinc mine in Alukeerqin Banner, Chifeng City, and the vegetation has not been restored. Photo provided by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
Specifically, first, during the construction phase, due to the stripping of open-pit infrastructure and the construction of mine roads and industrial site leveling, local vegetation will be destroyed, and topsoil and waste rock will be produced. If not handled properly, it will cause soil degradation, and even ground subsidence, cracking, collapse, and landslides. Therefore, the treatment of waste rock is crucial during the construction phase of mining.
Secondly, construction dust will increase the amount of dust deposition in local areas and have a certain impact on the atmospheric environment around the construction site. To mitigate the impact of construction dust on the atmospheric environment, shielding measures should be adopted at industrial sites and mine roads closer to residential areas; measures such as watering and covering should be taken to ensure that the visually observed dust height during earthwork operations in various projects is less than 2m.
Third, during the operation period of the mine, the method of medium-deep hole blasting is often used for mining, which will inevitably produce a large amount of dust. The larger particles of dust after blasting will settle within a short distance and short time, and in severe cases, it will cause irreversible damage to vegetation preparation.
In addition, large-scale well mines may also become one of the causes of ground subsidence and debris flow disasters; the mining of non-ferrous metal mines and rare earth mines will also cause more serious acid pollution, water pollution, and heavy metal pollution. All these pollution risks need to have treatment plans in place before resource development, and reliable treatment methods are needed as a guarantee.
Law: Mineral development does not cross the red line; resource exploitation is scientific and reasonable.
“China has very strict requirements for mineral resource development, especially in terms of site selection. Our bottom line is not to damage the environment or affect the ecology,” researchers from the Inner Mongolia Mengcao Grassland Ecological Research Institute told reporters: “For example, ecological protection areas, ecologically fragile areas, and ecologically degraded areas in China are prohibited from mineral resource development. This is the red line.”
The reporter reviewed several relevant laws and regulations in China, which confirmed this statement. As early as 2005, the then State Environmental Protection Administration, the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the Ministry of Health jointly issued a notice on the "Technical Policies for the Protection and Pollution Control of Mining Ecological Environment", prohibiting mining in legally designated nature reserves (core areas, buffer zones), scenic spots, forest parks, drinking water source protection areas, around important lakes, sites of cultural relics and historical sites, geological heritage protection areas, basic farmland protection areas, and strictly restricting the mining of mineral resources in ecologically fragile areas such as ecological function protection areas and nature reserves, areas prone to geological disasters, and areas with serious soil and water loss.
Article 30 of the "Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", promulgated and implemented on January 1, 2015, clearly stipulates that the development and utilization of natural resources should be carried out rationally, protecting biodiversity, ensuring ecological security, and formulating and implementing relevant ecological protection and restoration and management plans in accordance with the law. In addition, the "Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China" has more detailed and strict regulations on the mining of mineral resources.
It is undeniable that due to historical reasons, there have been irreconcilable contradictions between mineral resource development and the ecological environment, which have also affected normal agricultural and pastoral production, and even some problems remain to be solved. Wang Jianguo, a researcher at the Plant Protection Institute of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, said: "The current damage and impact of mineral resource development on the ecological environment are becoming less and less, which stems from the continuous progress of technology and the increasingly scientific nature of our development concepts. However, there is no doubt that historical problems must be solved, and currently, relying on scientific and technological means and scientific governance concepts to solve these problems is the only way forward.”
Development: Ecological priority is fundamental, and effective restoration is a prerequisite.
In fact, China has never stopped strengthening the supervision and enforcement of resource development, comprehensively carrying out ecological environmental inspections in fragile areas, and strictly prohibiting over-exploitation, overgrazing, indiscriminate reclamation, indiscriminate digging, and illegal mining, disorderly road construction, and other resource-destructive behaviors. From unlimited mining and blind exploitation to excessive mining and extensive development, and then to intensive mining and scientific development, China's path of mineral resource development is getting better and better. The decisive statement and thorough investigation by the Qinghai Provincial Government fully illustrate this point.
In 2018, the "Implementation Plan for the Three-Year Action Plan to Win the Blue Sky Protection War in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region" was issued. The plan proposes that green mining standards be implemented for newly established mines, that production mines be required to meet green mining construction standards within a time limit, and that mining enterprises that do not meet green mining standards will gradually withdraw from the market; comprehensive management of open-pit mines will be carried out, a comprehensive investigation of open-pit mines will be completed, and open-pit mines that violate resource and environmental laws and regulations, pollute the environment, damage the ecology, and engage in indiscriminate mining will be closed down in accordance with the law.
In strengthening the ecological restoration of historically abandoned mines, Inner Mongolia, as the northern ecological barrier, has also taken strong measures, adopting engineering and biological measures, increasing the intensity of mining geological environment restoration and comprehensive geological environment management, strengthening pollution control during the mining, storage, loading, and transportation processes, and ensuring that dust emissions meet standards.
In Xilin Gol grassland of Inner Mongolia, scientists have deeply integrated technological means with mine area restoration and governance to solve historically left-over environmental problems. They utilize ecological big data to analyze the geological environment of the mine, and after conducting field research on the basic ecological data of water, soil, air, vegetation, and soil, they begin near-natural grassland ecological vegetation restoration in the mine tailings pond, including soil improvement and plant population research.
“We are carrying out comprehensive governance work including geological hazard control, landform reshaping, water system construction, soil reconstruction, vegetation planting, facility improvement, and dynamic monitoring, in order to achieve a smooth transition between the treated area and the surrounding grassland, and to provide a comprehensive reference for mine tailings ecological restoration, from project design and scientific research implementation to engineering construction,” said Xing Qi, director of the Inner Mongolia Mengcao Grassland Ecological Research Institute.
Whether it's the "Chinese Water Tower" or the northern Xinjiang ecological barrier, the relationship between mineral resource development and ecological and environmental protection is no longer a paradox. The guiding ideology of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" and "ecological priority, green development" is guiding and promoting the development of intensive and environmentally friendly resource development methods as the mainstream.
