China Punishes Illegal Miners
Much of China’s mineral reserves lie close to the surface, making it relatively easy and profitable to mine, even with very basic equipment.
The international price of gold has skyrocketed since 2003. Additionally, China is mineral hungry…needed for a balanced diet.
However, illegal mining leads to illegal dumping in rivers and lakes, damaging the environment and destroying land.
From January of last year to June of this year, China dealt with as many as 70,000 illegal mining cases the China Daily reported.
More than 90% of them involved mining without a license.
2,660 civil servants who held stakes in mines have been punished.
China seems to be serious about cracking down on illegal mining despite its desperate need for such minerals as iron, coal, gold and such.
Whether Chinese officials are successful or not remains to be seen. A lot of people, a lot of opportunity, leads to a lot of crime…of all sorts.
What do you think?
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