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| Ancient Imperial Tombs Under Threat from Illegal Mining |
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Qing Dynasty imperial tombs near to The Eastern Tombs - Dongling in Chinese - form the largest preserved imperial mausoleum complex in But the tombs are located at the foot of a mountain in "Illegal mining started two years ago with mining reaching a depth of 50 to 80 meters," said a villager from According to CNS, illegal mining has destroyed part of the vegetation of the Shashan mountain, which is only 200 meters from Huiling, one of the Eastern Tombs. The night reverberates with the sound of explosions from within the mines and the iron ore is shipped out during the daytime. "The windows of the nearby houses have been damaged by the violent explosions," said the villager. "The iron ore content here is more than 45 percent, and the daily output is 700 tons," a miner was quoted by CNS as saying. He added that the price of the local iron ore was 220 yuan per ton, and the net profit gained by each mine can reach 150,000 to 200,000 yuan per day. "Most of the Eastern Tombs are wooden buildings, which are a fire hazard. Some masonry tombs, facilities and artworks are exposed to the elements, so they are easily worn away. The mining aggravates the damage to the Eastern Tombs," an unnamed source from the tombs told CNS. A worker who is responsible for safeguarding the tombs said that the administrative department of Eastern Tombs had no legal authority to prevent the illegal mining. A village head said that the illegal mine owners in the Eastern Tombs area had a wide network of connections. "Illegal mining stopped during an investigation and resumed after the inspection had been completed," a village head said. (Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2007)
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