Multi-metal mine rises in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Jiama model

People have traditionally associated mineral exploitation with pollution and environmental degradation. How far Tibet could go with its mining industry would depend on whether mining companies could strike a balance between instant wealth and sustainable development, corporate profits and benefits for local residents, said Teng Yongqing, general manager of Huatailong.

"If these balances were not achieved, regardless of the rich mineral resources Tibet may boast, turning this region into a reserve base of strategic resources would be just a pipe dream," said Teng.

What Huatailong has been doing in Jiama over the past two years has been summarized as the "Jiama Model" by the Ministry of Land and Resources, and many of its domestic industry peers have visited the place in hopes of learning from Huatailong's experiences.

"The golden rule we have been following here is to always be responsibility-aware and harmony-aware. You can never be careful enough with these issues. We have had bitter lessons," said Teng.

To ease the hostility among local residents, Huatailong spent more than 32 million yuan on land compensations and another 3.5 million yuan to make up for herders' livestock losses at the hands of the former irresponsible miners.

It also invested 19 million yuan to install the Jiama Industry and Trade Company, a platform specializing in the transportation, green and labor services within the mine, but held only a 51-percent stake. The remaining stake advanced by Huatailong was equally distributed among the 665 local households of Jiama Township who received an aggregate cash bonus of 330,000 yuan the day the platform was put into operation.

In the following two years, these shareholders have shared in year-end dividends of 1 million yuan and 1.18 million yuan, respectively. Moreover, locals enlisted by the JITC can earn 4,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan a month. By contrast, the average per capita annual net income of Tibetan herders was 4,700 yuan in 2011.

Huatailong has also dedicated itself to boosting local employment. About 35 percent of its total employees, or 294 people, are from ethnic minorities, including 253 Tibetans. Jiama Township has become the most wealthy place in Medrogungkar to date.

"Working with Huatailong is an admirable job here. As far as I understand, people admire us for not just the relatively high salaries we earn, but also out of respect because many of them think the company is trustworthy," said Tsering Dekyi, one of the nine locals who graduated from Northeast University with a major in geological surveying and exploitation through Huangtailong's sponsorship.

Changing for the people

For Han employees, Huatailong has established a number of behavioral taboos. For instance, they are banned from speaking disrespectfully to locals, not fulfilling a promise, shirking their duties, littering and feeling self-important.

Employees are also given regular lessons on local customs and the Tibetan language so they can befriend local residents and offer a hand when the latter is in need.

Knowing the public fears its production might raise dust and damage grasslands, Huatailong modified its infrastructure construction plan and invested 200 million yuan on a 5.5-km-long tunnel to transport minerals through mountains instead of on the ground.

To date, the company has spent 180 million yuan on various environmental protection projects, including water recycling, land reclamation and tailings disposal. This investment is roughly 11.7 percent of its total investment on the Jiama project - much higher than the national benchmark of 3 percent.

To conserve water and avoid pollution, the project is a zero-discharge site, as flotation tailings are de-hydrated in a press filter facility above the plant and the filtered water is re-circulated into the processing cycle.

To help local residents and livestock tide through dry seasons, the company spent 1.65 million yuan on building a stand-by water cell that draws water from the Lhasa River, and it invested another 3.3 million yuan on water-saving irrigation facilities for farmers.

"Not everyone in the management can speak Tibetan, but we are open to communicating with every resident. They just come and see. If they crack a smile, we see what we value," said Teng Yongqing.