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Illegal gold mining thrives on mountain
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OVER a decade ago, authorities officially banned gold mining operations on Xishan Mountain, just outside of Beijing, citing safety and environmental concerns. But despite the long-standing prohibition, villagers continue to risk their lives at the bottom of illegal shafts dominated by local ruffians.
For a lucky few, the results of such illicit digging can be immense. Wang Jingguo, a local man in Jiangjunguan Village in Pinggu District said to be heavily connected with local mining operations, demonstrated the allure of this underground trade by showing off a glittering gold necklace, nearly as wide as a finger.
“I dug the gold and processed it myself — pure gold weighing over 400 grams,” he told undercover Beijing News reporters.
Wang, 33, claimed to earn as much as 10,000 yuan (US$1,600) every day by selling metal extracted from Xishan Mountain.
Some would-be gold bugs are not so lucky though. Xing Jinzhong, a local villager, for instance, hoped to find wealth at the bottom of an illegal mine but died in 2004 in his early 30s when he fell into a chasm.
Such fatalities are nothing new. The Beijing-based newspaper noted that mining deaths have been reported in Xishan Mountain every year since the government’s ban.
In May 2006, four men from neighboring Heishuiwan Village got caught by a cave-in when illegally mining for gold on Xishan Mountain. One was seriously injured.
During more than 20 visits to the area, Beijing News reported that the sound of blasting could often be heard around the mountain. Many shafts also contained the acrid smell of mining chemicals.
Xishan Mountain has long been known colloquially as “Gold Mountain” for its abundant gold reserves. Gold mining has been an economic pillar in the region since Japanese troops first discovered the precious metal there during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).
Since then, numerous miners, most of them local villagers, have been diagnosed with silicosis, a type of lung disease typically caused by prolonged exposure to mining chemicals. Such health concerns, combined with environmental issues stemming from improper disposal of mining chemical effluent, led the local government to institute a ban on mining back in 2003.
“Each mine is said to contain 500 kilograms of gold,” a local from Jiangjunguang Village surnamed Yue told Beijing Daily.
Yue spoke to reporters while hammering away on yellowish-brown rocks near the mouth of one of the estimated dozen mines still attracting diggers.
Villagers like Yue know that what they are doing is illegal, but few seem troubled by such concerns. These days, many locals work at the mines in exchange for a couple of hundred yuan per day from local strongmen.
At one point though, Yue and more than 20 other villagers reportedly wrote a letter outlining the extent of local mining abuses. They sent their findings to local district authorities, and even municipal leaders in Beijing. But, he recalled, whenever authorities showed up to investigate, the ringleaders always seem to have fled in advance.
“Can you imagine? People have been pilfering these mines here in Beijing for 12 years!” Yue exclaimed as he opened a decaying wooden hatch which led into a deep vertical shaft. “These shafts should never have seen the light of day again.”
Around the mountain, signs of illegal mining activity were not hard to detect. The sound of motorcycles was often heard before daybreak as drivers ferried miners and material up and down steep paths.
“As long as there is no trouble at the higher levels (of government), mining is not a problem,” one miner told Beijing News. “When we get wind of a crackdown, we just stop for a while and then start again later.”
According to the newspaper’s investigation, local villager Zhu Jinshan, known locally by the nickname “Dapi” — big riffraff — has become an informal “authority” on the local mining trade.
Beijing News identified Zhu as one of the most powerful and well-connected mining bosses on the mountain. Posing as gold buyers, reporters met Zhu through a gold broker named Wang Chaoguan.
During a meeting, Zhu claimed to control two of the three roads which lead from Jiangjunguang to Xishan Mountain. “No one is allowed on those roads without my permission. If you want to do business, call Wang Jingguo,” he said.
Wang himself claimed to manage about 80 percent of the mines on the mountain. Once, when a group of outsider villagers came to mine the mountain, Wang said he summoned over a hundred helpers to “send them away.”
On a visit to one mining site with reporters, Wang grabbed a few stones. “These are all gold — a ton of rock can produce 3 to 4 grams of gold,” he explained.
Wang claimed to make such visits periodically, saying, “the mine is money. You have to watch out all the time in case miners steal the gold.”
He added that he prefers to hire middle-aged and older men to work the mines under his control since they are more experienced. Such experiences can be crucial underground, where explosions, cave-ins and falls pose serious dangers.
Last year, Wang said a miner died from an explosion and he offered compensation to the surviving family.
Amid such dangerous circumstances, both Zhu and Wang acknowledged the need to maintain smooth government relations. They promised that the local officials were “taken good care of.”
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