In August, the Central Plains are lush with green trees, fertile grass, and vibrant flowers.
When the China Mining News reporter arrived at the mining area of the Full House Red mining branch of the Lantian Stone Material Company along the winding mountain road, rows of lush trees lined the road, and the office area and nearby hills were covered in green grass, with flowers competing in beauty, resembling a large piece of jade embedded with colorful treasures. If it weren't for the before-and-after comparison photos of the mine restoration displayed in the exhibition area, it would be hard to associate this green and hopeful mine with the once dusty and barren slag heap.
A corner of the mine
"Green mines are a systematic project that reflects the will of the people and the national trend, and they are also a top priority concerning the fate and survival of mining enterprises. Only by adhering to principles and working diligently can the construction of green mines yield fruitful results," said the company's general manager Cheng Wei with deep feelings.
Gathering green consensus to build green mines
The company was formerly the Gongyi City Dayugou Full House Red Stone Material Plant. After integration and development, it has now become a modern mining enterprise that integrates mining, processing, and sales of limestone for construction materials. However, due to historical reasons, the scale of the company's mine is relatively small, limited by reserves, with an annual designed production capacity of only 300,000 tons.
"Small mines should also have big ambitions! We cannot just go with the flow and settle for mediocrity because the mine is small; we must build green mines." In recent years, the company has actively practiced the development concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" in response to the national requirements for green mine construction and the current situation in Gongyi City, taking the initiative to build green mines to high standards and gradually moving towards the construction of environmentally friendly scenic mines.
To vigorously promote the creation of green mines, they have established a leadership group for green mine work, mainly led by the mine manager, issued relevant management documents, developed implementation plans for green mine construction, and signed technical service agreements for green mine construction with relevant technical departments, providing solid guarantees for the creation of green mines.
To ensure green mining from the source, they strictly followed the "Development and Utilization Design Plan," adopting a tiered mining method and wet operations, insisting on simultaneous mining and restoration, greening where possible, and hardening where greening is not feasible, effectively controlling dust. In 2017, the company invested over 5 million yuan to build a fully enclosed factory and material yard of over 6,500 square meters, upgrading and transforming the crushing and screening production line according to clean production standards, achieving closed and automated control from crushing, screening, material transportation, to spraying and atomization, effectively reducing noise and controlling dust; they invested in and installed an intelligent power monitoring system for environmental protection, an online video monitoring system, and an online particulate matter detection instrument for real-time monitoring and dust emission detection, and connected with government departments such as public security, ecological protection, and natural resources to achieve real-time data upload. This effectively controlled unorganized dust emissions. The company also equipped mist cannons and spraying systems, purchased a street sweeper, two water trucks, and two mist cannon trucks to ensure comprehensive green and clean production.
On October 23, 2019, the company passed the re-examination and acceptance of the deep environmental governance of the mine organized by multiple departments and experts. At the same time, the construction of the "dual prevention mechanism standardization system for safe production" and "mining geological environment restoration" also passed expert and government evaluations.
Guarding lucid waters and lush mountains to create beautiful villages
The traditional model of "develop first and restore later" for mineral resources, while rapidly promoting economic development, has also caused environmental damage. Since the establishment of the mine, the company has started from protecting lucid waters and lush mountains, organically combining the creation of green mines with the construction of beautiful villages, insisting on simultaneous development and restoration, and focusing on the comprehensive remediation and beautification of the mining area.
Since the second half of 2017, they have invested heavily in hardening all the roads for office areas and self-use vehicles in the mine, effectively preventing dust. To further optimize the mining environment, the company also purchased over 10,000 cubic meters of loess to cover and green the mining area. As of now, they have invested a total of 26.8 million yuan, restoring the geological environment of the mine over 112 acres, clearing three dangerous rocks, backfilling two historical mining pits, treating two slag heaps, building 382 meters of intercepting drainage ditches, constructing over 3,000 meters of masonry retaining walls, planting 1,989 cypress trees, 1,146 climbing tiger plants, restoring 18 acres of arable land, 79 acres of forest land, and laying a spray irrigation pipeline network. At the same time, they invested over 2.7 million yuan to completely solve the stability issues of the slag heaps and built a safety-themed park of over 400 square meters on the backfilled slag heap, creating a new environment that is green, beautiful, harmonious, and civilized.
"We insist on integrating the concept of green development into the entire process of mine governance, planning for the long term, and rationally laying out, so that the once gray mining area can not only be dressed in green but also become a beautiful scenic area," Cheng Wei said excitedly, noting that the reclaimed land can be developed into projects such as tourism and leisure, ecological culture, residential demonstrations, and cultural inheritance and innovation. The company also plans to introduce elements of green modern agriculture, leisure picking, mountain sports, and characteristic landscapes into the restoration and governance of the mining area, striving to make it a beautiful landscape in Gongyi's beautiful villages.
Building together hand in hand to uphold social responsibility
Only with responsibility can there be action, and only with responsibility can there be a future. The company has always kept in mind its social responsibilities, actively responding to the party and the country's call for targeted poverty alleviation, and taking the initiative to undertake the task of poverty alleviation. They focus on industrial poverty alleviation, employment poverty alleviation, and financial poverty alleviation, starting from the needs of impoverished people and addressing small and difficult issues in people's livelihoods, striving to alleviate people's worries and help those in need.
To solve employment for nearby villagers and help them "make a living at home," the company has specially set up over 100 caring positions, arranging employment for more than 60 impoverished villagers from surrounding areas, with an average monthly salary of over 4,000 yuan, achieving local employment and increasing income at their doorstep.
"Since I started working at the Full House Red Company, life has been getting better and better. It's close to home, the salary is high, and I can take care of my family, feeling very happy," said Nie Yuanming, a bulldozer driver and villager from Xue Zhuang.
The company is actively supporting the construction of beautiful rural areas while building green mines and creating beautiful mining areas. They have proactively waived the stone fees for the villagers of Minquan Village, Xuezhang Village, and Zhongling Village, addressing the practical difficulties faced by local villagers in building houses and toilets. As long as the villagers need it, the company arranges the stone materials without hesitation. Over the past two years, they have provided approximately 10,000 tons of construction stone materials worth 700,000 yuan for village and town construction free of charge. To facilitate the travel of nearby residents, they also invested 6.8 million yuan to specifically build a road and greened both sides of the road.
"With the strong support of Mantanghong Company, the roads in our village have become wider and brighter, and the living environment has improved. Villagers can travel more conveniently now, and they excitedly dance in the square at night. Our village is soon to be evaluated as a beautiful village," said Bai Wuzhou, the village committee secretary of Xuezhang Village, unable to contain his excitement.
A mine does not need to be large; it wins with greenery. The green mine creation activity has truly brought Mantanghong Company, an inconspicuous mine, the "Mantanghong" of "beautiful environment, harmonious mining area, and joint development." Isn't this the ultimate goal of creating a green mine?
Website Editor: Gong Li