The safer, greener China--Tough new regulations have closed thousands of mines - and created opportunity

摘要

The numbers seem astounding: of the more than 100,000 mines in China, close to a third of them are slated to be closed within the next 10 years. The closures are evidence of the continuing struggle by the Chinese government to reform its antiquated mining industry. And, it is a trend that promises opportunity to those who establish themselves within the growing industrial powerhouse."A lot of these mines are very small," explained Lee Barker, president and CEO of Sparton Resources, which has been active in China for the last nine years - the company operates a joint-venture germaniummine and is also developing a vanadium deposit. "When we think of a mine in the West, we think of 500 to 500,000 tonnes a day," said Barker."Here, those small mines are mining five or 10 tonnes a day, that's all."