Qinghai to repair Qilian environment

Province initiates a 3-year plan to fix mountain damaged by illegal mining

Qinghai province has initiated a three－year plan to repair the environment in the Qilian Mountains, where a serious case of illegal mining was reported.

Last month, media reported that the local Xingqing company had been excessively mining a coal field in Muli town since 2006. More than 25 million metric tons of coal had been mined by the company under the guise of ecological restoration, creating around 15 billion yuan ($2.19 billion) of profit.

Standing on the border of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, the Qilian Mountains were designated a nature reserve in 1988. Neighboring the mountains, the Muli coal mine is Qinghai's only site with rich coal resources.