China's Mining Industry in Good OrderAfter four years of rectification and improvement nationwide, the mining industry in China has been brought back in good order, said a leading official from the Ministry of Land and Resources Thursday.Checks have been put in place to minimize illegal mining and the waste of mineral resources to protect and develop China's mineral resources, Jiang Chengsong, vice minister of land and resources said at a news briefing held by the ministry. Over the past four years, a total of 735 disputes on mineral prospecting and over 12,000 quarrels on mining were settled, some 1,800 persons were punished and 253,000 tons of illegal mineral products were confiscated, according to Jiang. Waste of resources and environmental pollution were once again pressing issues in China's mining industry. The State Council issued a circular at the end of 1995, requiring strengthened control in the industry. Jiang explained that the controls are aimed at pushing forward sustainable development of the mining industry. Most of China's mineral enterprises are small and China encourages the merger of the small mines. By the end of June, more than 3,000 small-sized mines had been merged. In addition, China regulates the mining industry through granting mining licenses. Dangerous small mines causing serious pollution were forced to shut down. To date, about 99.6 percent of state-owned and 98 percent of private mineral enterprises have mining licenses. Over the past two years, over 53,300 small mines were closed, and the number of China's mining enterprises fell to 172,183. |
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