The resource authorities of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region have decided to shut down 45 mines and cancel eight sets of exploration rights to protect the Helan Mountain nature reserve.
According to the Ministry of Land and Resources of Ningxia, 15 of the 17 coal enterprises involved have already signed contracts promising to withdraw their businesses to restore the local environment and 10 of them have already started restoration work to improve the ecosystem. The 15 enterprises have all been given compensation.
The ministry said that it has investigated the remaining resources in the nature reserve, and based on this estimated the quantity of materials already excavated and the remaining reserves of the closed mines. Using these figures, the ministry has calculated the money it should pay the mine enterprises and has already refunded five of the enterprises.
Helan Mountain is famous for its rock paintings. It has more than 20,000 cliff paintings carved by the nomads that once lived in northern China, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The paintings depict herding, hunting, sacrificial rites and the lives of people who lived 3,000 to 10,000 years ago. Images of animals dominate the paintings, followed by humans, vehicles, plants, planets, fingerprints and abstract signs.
Although many paintings have already been put under state or local protection, it is still difficult to keep these ancient relics of human civilization intact. They can be eroded by wind and rain, faded by sunlight, or damaged by spread of plants and human activity, or even tinier invaders: bacteria, fungi and algae.
