Another mining disaster has taken place in Kham region of Tibet (Sichuan province, according to China). In this case, a spill of polluted water from a mine in Dartsedo (Ch: Kangding) county, Kardze (Ch: Ganzi), according to a report issued by Radio Free Asia on 18 October. A spill of chemical products from the mine has triggered the death of many fish from nearby rivers and polluted drinking water for many villages as well, causing a huge damage not only to the environment but also to the livestock and living conditions of herders and farmers living there. However, Chinese authorities in Kardze have refused to act against the mining site, threatening Tibetans who issued complaints against the mining site with deploying troops in the area and allegations of conflicting the will of the authorities. In addition, some inhabitants from Balang township brought dead fish from the polluted river towards local government headquarters in order to put pressure on them, but the local authorities answered only stating that it would take time to redress the situation and cut off all communications in the area.
The latest spill has even increased the anger of Tibetans living in the area, many of whom had already complained against the building of the mine when they were noticed. Nevertheless, authorities did not pay any consideration to those claims and carried on the construction of the mining site, although local government firstly stated that the project was only to build a road. But it did not prevent the anger of villagers who saw such plan as a threat to the environment and their traditional way of life. In addition, such infrastructures trigger a massive influx of Han-Chinese migrant workers into the region, who usually get the best paid jobs and marginalize ethnic Tibetans by imposing their language and modern way of life.
Even though the spill in Balang township can be seen like an isolated incident, the true fact is that it has been the last of many mining disasters which have happened in Tibet for the last years. The one which drew the attention from the main international media outlets was a landslide in a mine in Gyama village, near Lhasa, which wiped out the miners' camp and buried 83 workers alive. Although it was blamed on a "natural disaster" by the authorities in the Tibetan Autonomous Regions, nearby villagers and Tibetan rights advocates raised early concerns over the causes of the landslide. In fact, most people thought that the real cause for the incident was the excessive activity of the mine, as said by witnesses living in the area who were quoted by Tibetan poet, blogger and activist Tsering Woeser. In addition, she wrote several articles on this issue on her blog and deeply analyzed the catastrophe, concluding that all the evidences proved that it was entirely man-made. She also stated that mining activities would keep polluting water supply, as happened recently in Kham region.
Another issue to be considered is that nearly all corporations which are carrying on mining activities in Tibet are at least partly owned by Western companies which constitute joint ventures alongside Chinese state-owned companies. This is very likely to be the cause of the mining corporation which caused the spill of chemical products in Kardze, a company called Ganzi FerroAtlántica Silicon Industry Co., Ltd., specialized in the extraction of silicon metal from the earth crust and its further transformation into a material to build solar panels. This enterprise is a joint venture owned in a 75% by Spanish group FerroAtlántica, presided over by Juan Miguel Villar Mir (see picture below), one of the main businessmen from Spain.
Even though the spill in Balang township can be seen like an isolated incident, the true fact is that it has been the last of many mining disasters which have happened in Tibet for the last years. The one which drew the attention from the main international media outlets was a landslide in a mine in Gyama village, near Lhasa, which wiped out the miners' camp and buried 83 workers alive. Although it was blamed on a "natural disaster" by the authorities in the Tibetan Autonomous Regions, nearby villagers and Tibetan rights advocates raised early concerns over the causes of the landslide. In fact, most people thought that the real cause for the incident was the excessive activity of the mine, as said by witnesses living in the area who were quoted by Tibetan poet, blogger and activist Tsering Woeser. In addition, she wrote several articles on this issue on her blog and deeply analyzed the catastrophe, concluding that all the evidences proved that it was entirely man-made. She also stated that mining activities would keep polluting water supply, as happened recently in Kham region.
Another issue to be considered is that nearly all corporations which are carrying on mining activities in Tibet are at least partly owned by Western companies which constitute joint ventures alongside Chinese state-owned companies. This is very likely to be the cause of the mining corporation which caused the spill of chemical products in Kardze, a company called Ganzi FerroAtlántica Silicon Industry Co., Ltd., specialized in the extraction of silicon metal from the earth crust and its further transformation into a material to build solar panels. This enterprise is a joint venture owned in a 75% by Spanish group FerroAtlántica, presided over by Juan Miguel Villar Mir (see picture below), one of the main businessmen from Spain.
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| Juan Miguel Villar Mir on an undated photo |
Furthermore, someone who starts seeking information about FerroAtlántica and its several ramifications would notice that it is only a part of the huge enterprise group controlled by Villar Mir. The key corporation of this group is OHL, a conglomerate of companies with several ramifications but aimed mainly to construction activities and concessions over infrastructures. Moreover, the Spanish businessman is currently one of the directors of Abertis, a set of corporations which controls most of highway concessions and tolls all over Spain and generates a large amount of benefits. In fact, motorway tolls have escalated their prices over a 7,5% only during the last one or two years and mainly in Catalonia, triggering citizens' protests like #novullpagar ("I don't want to pay" movement) aimed not to pay tolls when driving through the main Catalan highways.
As if it were not enough, Juan Miguel Villar Mir can be regarded as one of the key pieces of the complex relationship between the ruling powers in Spain and China. In fact, the other share of Ganzi FerroAtlántica Silicon Industry Co., Ltd is owned by a Chinese state-owned company, so he is likely to be well related to several members within the Chinese Communist Party. Furthermore, he has close ties with Spanish ruling People's Party and was blamed for illegally funding it by a huge amount of donations, according to information recorded on documentation from Bárcenas lawsuit, a court case regarding the illegal funding of the ruling party in Spain.
Finally, this case is an example on how certain businessmen can invest their money in projects which can provide huge benefits through the exploitation of very rare natural resources without considering the needs of the population living in the area or the damage their activity can cause to such a sensitive environment as the Tibetan plateau, while are aiding the occupation of the area and encouraging an influx of migrant people who work on their companies and start the colonization of the region. But it also shows some ties between their corporations and the relations between the ruling parties of their birthplace and the place they are investing it. The relationship between the water spill in Kardze and the company owned by Spanish businessman Villar Mir is quite an evidence supporting the dark scheme of ties between Chinese and Spanish authorities.
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