According to Xinhua News Agency, in April, the Urad grassland has not turned green, and the black mines dozens of meters deep are scattered on the grassland, such as dozens of black holes on the yellow cloth, which are very eye-catching.
A reporter from “Xinhua Viewpoint” recently followed the inspection team of the third central ecological and environmental protection inspection team and found that the mining of Wulateqian Banner in Bayannaoer City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has been developing disorderly for a long time, and nearly 30,000 mu of grassland has been illegally mined and occupied, making the original ecological The fragile desert and semi-desert steppe was severely damaged.
The grassland was smashed by the scourge, and the mining enterprise was awarded the “green mine”
At the Gonghudong Iron Mine of Shengjin Mining Company, a 97-meter-deep, 353-acre pit was excavated from the originally flat grassland, and the ash was blown away by the wind.
The 97-meter-deep cross-border mining pit at Shengjin Mining Company’s Gonghudong Iron Mine (drone photo).Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter En Hao on March 27, 2022
The inspection team found that the mining license area of Gonghudong Iron Mine was only 81.9 mu. As early as 2016, the Qi Land and Resources Bureau found out and punished it, but by 2018, the company not only did not converge, but the cross-border mining area expanded.
Yuan Xigang, head of Shengjin Mining Company, said: “The company has carried out ecological management on the mines that cross the boundary.” But the reporter saw at the scene that the cross-border mining area has not been rectified and ecological restoration has not been carried out, and the huge mines have been left there for many years.
On August 31, 2021, satellite photo of Shengjin Mining Company’s Gonghudong Iron Mine cross-border mining (satellite image). Xinhua
Wulate grassland is one of the concentrated natural grasslands in Inner Mongolia. It is an important part of the “northern sand control belt” in the national ecological security strategic pattern. Due to scarce rainfall, it is mainly desert and semi-desert grassland, and its ecology is extremely fragile.
The reporter’s investigation found that state-owned enterprises, large private enterprises and small enterprises destroyed and encroached on grasslands through mining pits, dumps, tailings ponds, etc., ranging from tens of acres to thousands of acres. According to the statistics of the local forestry and grassland department, a total of 45 mining enterprises and 62 projects have destroyed grasslands, covering an area of 28,000 mu.
The acts of destroying and encroaching on the grasslands have been in the past, and some are still going on in the past two years. Some of the mines were actually rated as green mines, and even the grasslands were secretly destroyed in the process of participating in the evaluation. The Quartzite Project of Nongken Jingniu Mining Company has occupied and destroyed 500 mu of grassland without obtaining the approval for the expropriation of grassland, of which the dump will be occupied in 2021. In the quartzite project area, the grassland has lost its color, black and white, as if suffering from “psoriasis”.
The encroachment and destruction of grassland by the quartzite project of Nongken Jingniu Mining Company.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter En Hao on March 28, 2022
Due to perennial nibbling, the ecology of the Wulate grassland has degraded. A mine of Baotou Steel Group’s Guyang Mining Company did not obtain the approval for expropriation of grassland, and directly pushed waste ore down the mountain, occupying 178 mu of grassland. At present, only a few small trees stand on the huge mine slope. In Bayin Wendur Gacha, an ecologically restored mining area, almost no vegetation can be seen. Over the years, the slag has been flying, and the sand has turned into large gray sand nests, shining with metallic luster in the sun.
A grassland that has completed ecological restoration in Bayin Wendur Gacha, Uradqian Banner. The slag in the middle of the grassland has risen, and the sand has turned into large gray sand nests (drone photo).Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter En Hao on March 27, 2022
Illegal declaration of “legal” was punished for attempting to “cook cooked rice with raw rice”
In December last year, the Wulateqian Banner took control of the mining enterprises that destroyed the grassland. The reporter learned that of the 28,000 mu of grassland that was destroyed, only 6,844 mu of grassland will be revegetated within a time limit, and the remaining 20,000 mu of grassland will be re-approved for the expropriation of grassland.
The reporter’s investigation found that the total grassland area reported to the autonomous region by the Wulateqian Banner to apply for the approval of the mining enterprise for the expropriation of grassland is much larger than the 28,000 mu of grassland area destroyed by the mining enterprise.
A person in charge of the Qilin and Grass Bureau said that the data reported to the autonomous region is mainly collected from the data reported by various enterprises.
At the same time, the heads of several mining companies said that the punishment was “not a bad thing”. , leaving enough space for development.” This kind of thinking of “cooking cooked rice with raw rice” on the basis of illegal sabotage has deeply worried the inspection team.
It is reported that mining and processing of minerals account for more than a quarter of the financial revenue of Wulateqianqi. There are 85 mines in the whole flag, of which 50 are iron ore, most of which are of low grade or even ultra-lean iron ore. If this situation of over-reliance on resource development, low industrial level, low technical content, and loose and extensive management is not broken, it will cause further damage to the ecology of the Urad grassland.
During the interview, the indifference of the environmental awareness of the heads of mining enterprises was surprising. The annual precipitation in the ecologically sensitive area of the Urad grassland is less than 100 mm, and it is a huge expense to make up for the ecological debt formed over the years. A person in charge of a mining company claimed that the ecological restoration of the mining area should “rely on the sky” to avoid planting trees and grass, and relying on the rain to “down” the mine into a lake.
In the Bayin Wendur Gacha of Wulateqian Banner, there is almost no vegetation in an ecologically restored mining area. The sand grains shining with metallic luster in the sun fluttered in the wind in the hands of reporters.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jing
Suyaratu, the former secretary of the Urad Banner Committee, admitted that Qili was aware of the ecological problems in the mining area as early as 2016. In 2018, he spent 80 million yuan for governance, but found that the investment was far from enough. “low level”.
Jump out of the resource-dependent development thinking, and resolutely “no one meter” to protect the grassland
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the protection and construction of grasslands in Inner Mongolia has entered the strictest and best period in history. During the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, the area has an average of 29 million mu of grass planted annually. The problems found by this inspector show that the protection of local grasslands still needs to be further strengthened.
In the face of the problems found by the inspectors, the Bayannaoer Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government expressed their sincere acceptance. On March 28, special rectification in the field of mineral resources was deployed throughout the city. The 28,000 mu of grassland that has been destroyed is being reviewed and judged, and those that meet the requirements will be handled in accordance with the law. Approval for expropriation of grassland; no approval for grassland expropriation for grasslands exceeding 28,000 mu.
During the interview, officials from forestry, grass, environmental protection and other departments believed that Inner Mongolia should start from ecological protection and focus on developing iron ore by region and grade. Environmentalists such as Zhou Jinfeng, Secretary General of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, suggested that in ecologically fragile areas, the principle of ecological priority should be established, and some projects with low added value and negative impacts on ecology should be given high-standard access. It is strictly forbidden to launch projects that seriously damage the ecology; establish a negative list, and actively implement the ecological restoration reserve system, “enter if you have the ability to manage while developing, and don’t do it if you don’t have the strength”; must strictly select green mines, explore third-party and Mobilize social forces to participate in the selection, and at the same time improve the exit mechanism for green mines.
Zhao Wenhua, deputy director of the Agricultural Science Bureau of the Uradqian Banner, said that the Banner Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau is responsible for grassland supervision. There are only 36 people in the bureau, but they have to supervise more than 4.4 million mu of grassland in the entire banner. A drone is used for law enforcement. nothing. He suggested that we should strengthen grassland supervision professionals and equipment, and increase law enforcement inspections.
Suaratu said, “Economic development can no longer follow the old path, and we must calculate long-term accounts and ecological accounts.” Where mining is the pillar of development, the focus of transformation is to accelerate the integration of existing “small, scattered and weak” mining companies. , through encouragement and guidance, withdraw a batch, integrate a batch, upgrade a batch, from extensive to intensive management.
