Eco-friendly mining helps drive environmental cleanup

Remedial measures

At the Minda Coal Mine which stretches for about 20 square kilometers in Ordos' Dongsheng district, rehabilitation programs have been rolled out since the open-pit facility started operations in March 2009, according to Jia Xudong, an executive with Minda Eco-agriculture, a subsidiary of the mine. "Once mining is finished in a plot, the remediation work begins," he said.

Thanks to the various agricultural activities, the mine looks like an orchard, even though it is still operating normally.

The 30,000-plus, apple, peach, pear, apricot and date trees, and grapevines, have borne fruit, making the scene extremely colorful.

More than 17,000 pigs, chickens, horses, cows and goats roam a separate area. There are also four fishponds around the mine, plus about 270 greenhouses.

Jia said the eco-agriculture company employs 150 people, with roughly 70 percent of them being local residents.

In the wake of the 2017 guideline on the promotion of green mine construction, the Manlailiang Coal Mine in Manlai village in Ordos' Ejin Horoo Banner has also been making efforts to transform itself into a green facility.

The mine, which started operations in 2017, has an annual production capacity of 5 million tons.

Previously, the mine's operators sowed grass seeds as a way to rehabilitate the area. "After the guideline was released, we introduced even higher standards into the remediation program in accordance with the requirements for green mines," said Wu Runbiao, the mine's head.

"We aim to not only afforest the mining areas, but also generate social benefits."

In addition to planting landscaped woods, the company has introduced eco-agriculture projects to benefit local residents, Wu added.

For example, for one of the projects, named Huangshangliang, the company plans to invest about 20 million yuan to develop an agri-tourism resort that will combine catering, entertainment, healthcare, farming and breeding businesses.

"After we have made all the investment, the project will be transferred to the village for management. The profits will all belong to the residents," Wu said.

According to the company, part of the project opened for business in June last year, but it will become fully operational next year. More than 10 sq km of mining areas have so far been remediated in the facility.