The former tailings pond has now become a green field (beautiful China) mining | ecology | tailings pond has now become
The former tailings pond has now become the Gupo Mountain football base.
Photo by Yan Lizheng, a journalist from People's Daily Online
Core Reading
In Hezhou City, Guangxi, which has a millennium long history of mineral mining, abandoned mines once caused serious water pollution. In recent years, the local government has vigorously promoted the comprehensive management and ecological restoration of abandoned mines, transforming tailings ponds into football bases, achieving a win-win situation in terms of ecological, economic, and social benefits.
Recently, the first National Student Games Football Project Test Tournament was held at the Gupo Mountain Football Base in Qingmian Village, Huangtian Town, Pinggui District, Hezhou City, Guangxi Province. Multiple participating football teams from various regions competed here.
This football base, surrounded by green mountains and covering an area of about 2000 acres, was an abandoned tailings pond 10 years ago. "Through comprehensive management and ecological restoration, we have introduced social capital to build professional football training bases, achieving a win-win situation in terms of ecological, economic, and social benefits," said Yang Qiaoying, a researcher at the Hezhou Ecological Environment Bureau.
Years of mining, ecological hazards buried under unclaimed tailings
Hezhou City, located at the crossroads of Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hunan, is rich in mineral resources. There are records of large-scale tin mining as early as the Western Han Dynasty. After thousands of years of high-intensity mining, traditional mines such as tin, lead, and zinc have gradually closed down in the 21st century due to resource depletion. As of the end of 2022, there were a total of 74 abandoned mines in Hezhou City, with an area of over 22000 acres.
"When we were young, our parents strictly prohibited us from playing or herding cattle in the mining pit in the back mountain, where the water and soil were toxic." Li Yuefeng, a 40 year old villager from Qingmian Village, sighed, "But we never imagined that this tailings pond could now become the 'money tree' in the village. Currently, more than 300 people in the village work at the football base, and more than ten households have opened small shops and rural restaurants."
This tailings pond, originally belonging to Guangxi Pinggui Mining Bureau, is deeply hidden in the mountains of Qingmian Village, Huangtian Town. It consists of three areas where tin ore tailings and lead zinc tailings are stored. The abandoned slag and wastewater not only contain toxic and harmful substances such as cadmium, but also pose safety risks such as tailings leakage and geological disasters. In 2005, this abandoned tailings pond was transferred to Hezhou City and became an unowned tailings pond. Some illegal elements secretly transported slag and wastewater from other places to dump here, burying more serious ecological hazards.
In July 2013, due to the unauthorized discharge of ore dressing wastewater from other regions to the tailings pond in Qingmian Village area, as well as the direct discharge of wastewater from some illegal mining sites, a major water pollution accident occurred in the He River, where cadmium and thallium exceeded the standard. The river section, approximately 110 kilometers from the mouth of the Mawei River in Guangxi to Fengkai County in Guangdong Province, suffered varying degrees of pollution. Afterwards, the person in charge of the causing enterprise and the person in charge of the Hezhou Environmental Supervision Brigade were investigated for criminal responsibility. The Hezhou Municipal Party Committee and Government, after careful consideration, erected the "Warning Monument" at the entrance of Qingmian Village.
Comprehensive treatment, turning abandoned tailings ponds into football bases
In the second half of 2013, the comprehensive management of hidden dangers in the Muqiaomen tailings pond in Qingmian Village was completed through project approval, feasibility study, and environmental impact assessment. In 2014, the State Administration of Work Safety supported the treatment of the Muqiao Mian tailings pond in Qingmian Village through investment from the central budget in accordance with the implementation plan requirements of the comprehensive treatment project for hidden dangers in unowned tailings ponds. The total investment of the project was 16.43 million yuan, including 4.93 million yuan from the central budget, 6.58 million yuan from the autonomous region's finance, and 4.92 million yuan from the local finance of Hezhou City.
According to Huang Shihuo, the Secretary of the Party Committee of Huangtian Town, the main tasks of comprehensive management include: first, to eliminate risks and reinforce the tailings dam body; second, to increase pollution control efforts; third, to adopt measures such as grid stone backfilling to cultivate soil and restore vegetation, gradually integrating the reservoir area into the surrounding natural terrain.
After more than 5 years of perseverance, there have finally been results. In September 2019, the government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region officially cancelled the Muqiaomen tailings pond in Qingmian Village, making this area a valuable land resource that can be transformed and utilized. After multiple considerations, Hezhou City has decided to plan and construct an international standard A-level professional football training venue and a sports rehabilitation and rehabilitation center here, and establish the Guangxi Gupo Mountain Forest Ecological Health Tourism Industry Zone Management Committee to manage the ecological maintenance, resource protection, planning, construction, and development management in the Gupo Mountain area. By introducing social capital for construction and operation, the Gupo Mountain Football Base has now built 19 standard 11 player football fields, 6 7-player football fields, and 2 5-player beach football fields.
Comprehensive layout and protection of mountains, rivers and waters
Comprehensive management and ecological restoration of abandoned mines, including tailings ponds, is not only a mandatory requirement of policies and regulations, but also a technical task that requires scientific planning and long-term efforts.
Located north of Baisha Town, Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County, Hezhou City, the Fuchuan Daeshan Mining Area covers an area of 30 square kilometers and was once rich in minerals such as iron, tin, and lead zinc. It was abandoned after production was discontinued in 2013. According to the concept of "ecological restoration scientific utilization", relevant departments in Hezhou City have implemented 5 urban-rural construction land increase and decrease linkage projects and 1 land improvement project in this area in recent years. At present, the 2500 mu of land that has been restored in the early stage has become arable land. Not only are crops such as corn growing well, but it has also become a well-known "check-in spot" for internet celebrities in the local area.
Hezhou City has formulated and issued the "Overall Plan for Ecological Restoration of Abandoned Mines in Hezhou City", and has successfully applied for the first batch of major ecological restoration projects for historical legacy mines in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region during the 14th Five Year Plan period. The plan is to complete the ecological restoration of 4160.25 acres of historical legacy mines by 2025.
While vigorously promoting the ecological restoration of abandoned mines, the three-year action plan for green mine construction in Hezhou City has also achieved initial results. The "Five Modernizations" of mining, which include stepwise mining, industrialized production, standardized construction, scaled operation, and modern management, have been well promoted. At the same time, Hezhou City has also established a multi department joint inspection and supervision mechanism for mining environment, using drone aerial photography to build a three-dimensional intelligent supervision system, effectively curbing illegal mining activities.
"Guangxi's ecological advantages are invaluable, and protecting the mountains, rivers, and waters of Guangxi is a historical responsibility that we must bear." Li Jieyun, Secretary of the Hezhou Municipal Party Committee, said that currently Hezhou City has completed the creation of 43 green mines and ecological restoration of 5927.55 acres of abandoned mines; By 2025, Hezhou City will complete over 60% of the ecological restoration work for abandoned mines.
