Minerals And Mining

THE MINERAL resources of Tibet are high in quality and rich in quantity and variety. This fact had been known to Tibetans for several centuries, yet they did not exploit the resources for economic gain or for any development mainly due to their profound adherence to the principle of harmony between man and nature. However, after the invasion of Tibet by China in 1949, things began to change dramatically. In fact, one of the prime reasons that lured China to invade Tibet was to gain access to its rich mineral wealth. The Chinese Government started exploiting the pristine and rich natural resources of Tibet from as early as 1956 (Namgyal 1995). Since then Beijing has sent hundreds of geological prospecting teams to the plateau with great expectations of finding more mineral deposits. In the areas of Amdo, Kham and U-Tsang thousands of geological maps have been plotted.

Today there are more than 126 identified minerals in Tibet with significant reserves of the world’s deposits of uranium, chromite, boron, lithium, borax, and iron (DIIR 1992). Further, reserves of corundum, vanadium, titanium, magnesite, sulphur, mica, cesium, rubidium, arsenic, graphite, lepidolite and potash are some of the largest in both Tibet and China. Besides there are globally significant reserves of copper, gold, silver, zinc, oil and gas and other minerals on the plateau. Yulong Copper Mine at Chamdo and Norbusa chromite mine in Lhoka are some of their kind in Tibet (Namgyal 1995).

By the 1960s, the Chinese government realised that mining in Tibet is advantageous to the economy and the industries requiring mineral resources. Besides, China’s past dependence on international markets for ferrous and nonferrous ores and metals had cost it dearly in foreign exchange. As a result China started investing huge sums of money in Tibet from a variety of sources including the central and provincial treasuries and foreign investors. Consequently, several mining projects in Tibet were launched in China’s Eighth (1991-1995) and Ninth Five Year Plan (1996-2000). Many of the major schemes in the socalled “43 Development Projects” and “62 Development Projects” are directly related to the development and speeding up of the mining industry in Tibet. All these mining developmental areas are concentrated on potential mineral deposits that are sure of generating remarkable returns to the economy.

The material requirements of modern industrial economies are enormous, as are the environmental impacts of such consumption. The acceleration of mineral extraction has created unprecedented environmental and social problems in Tibet, yet China continues to emphasise that the development and expansion of Tibet’s mineral industry is to facilitate economic growth. The Chinese government’s ongoing process of building mining as the pillar industry of Tibet’s economy (Tibet Daily 1996) and the recent revamping of mining laws and other provisions for attracting foreign

investments (Lally 1997) drain Tibet’s mineral wealth. The Chinese authorities have constantly tried to hide the capital outflow of mineral extraction from Tibet into Chinese treasuries (ICJ 1997). From 1952 to 1990 mining in Tibet generated a profit of more than US$ 2 billion (15.4 billion yuan) for China (Research and Analysis Centre 1991). However, the destructive exploitation of mineral resources and unchecked mining practices resulted in widespread degradation of the environment. In several cases it has permanently altered the landscape — leaving massive debris, slag-heaps, abandoned mines, slope destabilisation and permanent land degradation.

GEOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
The present geomorphological features of the Tibetan Plateau were formed as a result of intense upheaval during the last 40-50 million years and therefore constitute the youngest macromorphological unit in the world (Molnar 1998). According to the theory of plate tectonics, the uplifting of the plateau resulted from a collision between two continental plates, the Eurasian and the Indian Plates. The Indian Plate moved northward, sliding under the Eurasian Plate and prompting its edge to rise and form a belt of ultra-basic rocks and mixed rocks in the valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. This river is located along the suture line between the two continental plates and is their clear-cut boundary (Ren et al 1985).

During the past few decades scientists have discovered much evidence that shows the Tibetan Plateau has undergone radical changes in topography, vegetation and climate. The recent discoveries of giraffe fossils at 4,500 metres above sea level in Driru County and three-toed fossils at 4,100 metres in Kyirong County, U-Tsang, infer that the land of Tibet was once much lower than it is today and that the climate was once hot and humid (Ren et al 1985). According to a Radio Peking report of 20 January 1997 fossils of dinosaurs were unearthed in the mountains in Tibet, some dating back 160 million years.

The intense uplifting of the mountain systems along the margins of the plateau has effectively blocked humid currents from entering and has turned the interior of the plateau into an arid region. Therefore, intense and extensive uplifting since the Neocene Period has been the leading factor in creating the physiographical features of
the Tibetan Plateau (Ren et al 1985). Most importantly, the geological processes of uplift and subduction by which Tibet was formed have endowed it with considerable mineral reserves.

A RICH HISTORY
Since medieval times minerals have played diverse roles in the lives of Tibetans. Minerals are used as vital ingredients in Tibetan phamaceutical preparations. Many religious objects and household and farm implements were made from minerals. Precious metals like gold, silver and copper were used largely in monasteries and nunneries and for ornamentation. Some of the metals mined in Tibet — particularly gold — were traded with India, Nepal, China and other neighbouring countries and so Tibet gained worldwide fame as a major repository of important minerals. Its name in Chinese, Xizang, means “Western Treasure House”.

Tibetans never initiated modern large-scale mining schemes since there were sufficient raw minerals on the surface of the earth to meet demands. Another reason that contributed to the preservation of the plateau’s mineral resources was the unique Tibetan approach to ecology. The centuries-old symbiosis between nature and religion led Tibetans to live in harmony with their land; this can be attributed largely to their profound faith in the principle of interdependence among living and non-living entities.

Tibetans believed that mining the natural resources would diminish the strength of the land, invite the displeasure of the deities who are the guardian of minerals and therefore bring harm to society (Atisha 1991). Another factor that has helped to preserve the country’s rich mineral resources was the Tibetans’ deliberate disinterest in mining for fear of the government imposing heavy taxes (Shakabpa 1984). In certain cases where mining was considered imperative, rituals were performed to appease the deities who were believed to be the “owners of the land”. Rituals like sangsol (incense offering) and the occasional performance of purification rites of objects and the environment helped the Tibetans continue to preserve and conserve their environment.

The first Tibetan metallurgist to use large quantities of minerals was probably Thang Thong Gyalpo (1361-1485). He was a mahasiddha (great accomplished one), a spiritual master, a talented iron bridge builder and a great theatrical performer. During his several spiritual journeys through Tibet and other countries he realised that building bridges, stupas and images was an integral part of his commitment to the bodhisattva ideal (a person who generates an aspiration to attain enlightenment for the sake of sentient beings). It is also believed that during his engineering work he coerced local demons, nagas (mythical water spirits with half human and half serpent physiques) and spirits to abandon their destructive activities; they eventually vowed to refrain from obstructing boats and help in building bridges (Gyatso 1991).

Thang Thong Gyalpo’s first iron bridge was known as Yuna Chaksam (Yuna being the village name and Chaksam referring to the iron bridge), which is situated in the upper Kyichu valley north of Lhasa. The historic iron chains still exist and span about 30 metres, but modern steel cables stabilise the bridge today (Kahlen 1993). In all, he was said to have built 58 bridges (Gyatso 1991) and his discoveries of iron ore, developing smelting techniques and constructing iron chain suspension bridges, were attributed to the tradition of Buddhist teachings. Thus his engineering feat contributed to his elevation to the status of a realised master. To avert plagues, Thang Thong Gyalpo once built a stupa from lime and performed elaborate rituals to appease the local spirits, and repeated these rituals when his bridge-building required large quantities of iron.

Since that time, no record or evidence of mining has been heard of in Tibet — with two exceptions. In 1900, gold extraction was carried out near Mapham Tso (Lake Manasarover) in Western Tibet. However, following an outbreak of smallpox the Tibetan government stopped the mining because the epidemic was attributed to the wrath of the presiding deity of the region. In the 1920s, Khenrap Kunsang Mondrag prospected parts of Dakpo and Lhoka in Central Tibet and found large reserves of petroleum. He had been one of four students sent by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama to Britain to study where he majored in mining engineering (Shakabpa 1984). On finding the reserves, however, the government did not grant permission for extraction on the ground that it would affect the ecosystem of the region (Tibetan Bulletin 1992c).

LARGE-SCALE MINING TODAY AND TOMORROW

Large scale modern mining began in Tibet only after China took full control of the country following the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s escape in 1959. Since then many areas have been surveyed and prospected by several Chinese government scientists. Their discoveries of huge reserves of various minerals, some of which are among the largest deposits in the world, catapulted the Chinese to dub Tibet the “Treasure Bowl Awaiting Development”.

Some of the geological expeditions carried out since then in Tibet were the Tibetan Plateau Expedition in 1957, the Sino-French Expedition in 1983, the Sino-German Expedition in 1984 and the Sino-British Geotraverse Expedition in 1985 (Tsundue 1994). In the ‘TAR’ and Eastern Tibet, 1:1 million and 1:200,000 geological maps have been worked out respectively (Namgyal 1995). The interest in mining in Tibet looks as though it will continue for long in the future as geological explorations tend to bring further successful results. In the Ninth Five Year Plan (1996-2000), China planned to invest nearly US$1.25 billion (10 billion yuan) in prospecting and developing mineral resources in Tibet’s central and western regions (Norwill 1997).

In 1992, China accorded ‘TAR’ “Special Economic Zone” status and encouraged foreign investment by offering favourable tax terms. China has also undertaken construction of the costly US$ 6.2 billion Tibet-China rail link from Gormo (Ch: Golmud) to Lhasa, which will aid transportation of natural resources from the plateau to China and will encourage Chinese settlers into Tibet. Since the inception of large-scale mining industries in Tibet, huge quantities of minerals were transported to China to help build its economy. These minerals were consumed largely by mineral-based industries and the surpluses were exported to other countries. In recent years, the expansion of Chinese markets in the international arena has further accelerated the growth of the mining industry in Tibet, with unprecedented investments from multinational companies and assistance from international aid agencies.

As the industrialisation of China is heavily dependent on a huge consumption of resources and energy (NORAD 1997), Tibet’s mineral reserves have become all the more important. The extraction and processing of these reserves is thought to be one of the principal reasons for opening up of the economy and road network, and for the undertaking of major development projects such as the controversial Yamdrok Tso hydropower project (DIIR 1992).

Today mineral extraction forms the largest economic activity in the industrial sector in Tibet. The growth of the mining sector is estimated at an annual rate of 30 per cent in the Ninth Five Year Plan (Tibetan Review 1998a). According to Dhondup Namgyal, the then Director of the TAR Mining Bureau in Lhasa in 1995, experts believe the mineral resources in Central Tibet area are worth US$ 81.3 billion in market value. Given the difficulty in obtaining information about mining operations in Tibet, however, the figures quoted officially are likely to represent only a small proportion of the true extent of extraction. The further large-scale development of mineral industries in Tibet is rising.

The Regional Secretary, Chen Kuiyuan, in Tibet Regional Economic Work Forum, held in Lhasa on 17 December 1999, confirmed that the “tapping of potential mineral resources to develop superior industries in Tibet is one of the main strategic policy decisions on the great development of Tibet” (Tibet TV, 1999).

Source: Tibet 2000 Environment and Development Issues, DIIR