How to make abandoned mines green mountains and rivers?

I. Background of mine ecological restoration

1. National policy

Party and state leaders attach great importance to the protection of geological environment in mines, and have repeatedly made important instructions on the protection of geological environment in mines.    On October 30, 2022, the Yellow River Protection Law of the People's Republic of China further clarified the responsibility of mine pollution prevention and ecological restoration, and put forward the requirements for mine restoration.

The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China elevated the construction of ecological civilization to a "millennium project." The report clearly points out that "building an ecological civilization is a major plan for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation." More than 30 years of sustained and rapid economic growth has brought great pressure on resources and the environment. Alleviating this pressure is not a short-term success, and continuous efforts are needed. Moreover, resource conservation and ecological environment improvement are endless, so it has been upgraded to a millennium project.

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that "Chinese-style modernization is the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature", which clarified the strategic task of ecological civilization construction in China's new era, and the overall keynote is to promote green development and promote harmonious coexistence between man and nature. On the basis of fully affirming the achievements of ecological civilization construction, the report comprehensively and systematically expounds the strategic ideas and methods of China's continuous promotion of ecological civilization construction from the perspectives of overall industrial structure adjustment, pollution control, ecological protection, and coping with climate change, and puts forward a series of new viewpoints, new requirements, new directions and new arrangements for future ecological environmental protection.

2. Analysis of current situation

In recent years, with the rapid development of social economy, human production activities have caused more and more damage to the ecological environment. The excavation slope formed in the disorderly mining process of the original mine, the exposed wound formed by the construction of roads and facilities in the mining area, the waste material storage site, and the tailings pond stacked with slag powder have the characteristics of steep slope, hard surface and poor site conditions, and the vegetation damage is serious. Recovery is difficult. High and steep slopes, waste dumps, slag dumps, etc., not only have serious soil erosion, but also have security risks, which are easy to cause natural disasters.

The above human activities have destroyed a large number of surface vegetation, such as scars, seriously affecting the landscape, but also caused great harm to the ecological environment. Vegetation restoration of exposed slope is the key and difficult point of ecological restoration. In the social environment of "gold mountain and silver mountain is not as good as green water and green mountains", which concept to guide ecological restoration is an important link related to the sustainable development of human and nature, and also the fundamental standard to judge whether the ecological restoration technical measures taken are economic and effective.

Second, the way to participate in the ecological restoration of mines

1. EOD mode

Policy basis: "Opinions on Encouraging and Supporting Social Capital to participate in Ecological Protection and Restoration issued by The General Office of the State Council" proposed that social capital can adopt the way of "ecological protection and restoration + industry introduction" and use the right to use natural resource assets or franchise rights to develop appropriate industries.

EOD mode: The eco-environment-oriented development model is based on ecological protection and environmental governance, supported by the operation of characteristic industries, regional comprehensive development as the carrier, and adopts industrial chain extension, joint operation, combination development and other methods to promote the effective integration of ecological environmental governance projects with strong public welfare and poor profitability and related industries with good returns, and coordinated promotion and integrated implementation. Internalizing the economic value brought by ecological environment governance is an innovative way of project organization and implementation.

2. The government directly initiated projects for restoration

Policy basis: The Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Restoration and Comprehensive Management of Mining geological environment clearly define the responsibility of mining geological environment management, and the mine geological environment problems left over from the planned economy period or the loss of responsible persons are historical problems left over by local governments at all levels to plan and restore.

Channels to apply for national funds:

According to the Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Finance and the General Office of Natural Resources on Supporting the Ecological Restoration Demonstration Project of Historical Abandoned Mines

Operating points:

(1) Each province selects the best projects to declare. Each province shall declare no more than 2 projects, and the total investment of each project shall not be less than 500 million yuan, and the implementation period shall be 3 years;

(2) The declared project area shall belong to the historical abandoned mines under the responsibility of government governance, and the single or relatively concentrated contiguent area of the mine shall not be less than 10 square kilometers in principle.

(3) The project management mainly includes the elimination of geological safety hazards, terrain remodeling, vegetation restoration, reclamation and utilization of abandoned land, etc.

(4) The ecological restoration demonstration project of historical abandoned mines shall be approved by the provincial government and jointly submitted to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources by the provincial finance and natural resources departments.

(5) The application documents shall be attached with the project implementation plan, the performance target declaration form of the central government's special transfer payment project, the plan map, and the map spot data of the historical abandoned mines in the project area.

3. Land index replacement and restoration

Policy basis: Opinions on Exploring the use of market-oriented ways to Promote ecological restoration in Mines, Opinions on Encouraging and supporting Social capital to participate in ecological protection and restoration.

Operating points:

(1) For the restoration of mine stock and abandoned construction land into cultivated land, "referring to the policy of linking urban and rural construction land increase and decrease, the index of vacated construction land can be transferred and used within the province." Index transferers are not subject to the restrictions of poverty-stricken areas and counties.

(2) Mining enterprises engaged in restoration, construction land restoration for agricultural land can be used for the balance of occupation and compensation of the same type of land occupied by its mining activities, construction land restoration for business construction land, after paying the transfer fee can obtain its right to use.

(3) After the social capital restores the construction land in the restoration area to agricultural land and passes the acceptance, the vacated construction land index can be prioritized for the development of related industries, and the saving index can be transferred and used within the province in accordance with the policy of linking the increase and decrease of urban and rural construction land. If the main body of ecological protection and restoration restores the stock construction land obtained by itself into agricultural land, the construction land index vacated can be used for the agricultural land of the same type occupied by it within the province after the experience is qualified.

4. Use abandoned resources to restore

Policy basis: Opinions on Exploring the Use of market-oriented ways to Promote Ecological Restoration in Mines, Opinions on Encouraging and Supporting Social Capital to participate in Ecological Protection and Restoration

Operating points:

(1) For the waste soil and stone generated in the process of mine restoration, it can be included in the county-level public resources trading platform for external sales, and the sales proceeds are all used for regional ecological restoration to ensure the reasonable income of social investment subjects.

(2) In accordance with the ecological protection and restoration plan and its engineering design, the newly generated earth and stone materials such as reasonable slope cutting and load reduction, elimination of geological hazards, soil and stone materials left in place, silt and sediment generated by river dredging, as well as high-quality topsoil and native plants are allowed to be used by ecological protection and restoration subjects free of charge for this restoration project and included in cost management; If there is any surplus, it will be disposed of by local governments at or above the county level relying on the public resource trading platform system, and ensure reasonable benefits for ecological protection and restoration subjects.

Focus: Resource disposal rights

5. Industrial development and restoration

Policy basis: Opinions on Exploring the Use of market-oriented ways to Promote Ecological Restoration in Mines, Opinions on Encouraging and Supporting Social Capital to participate in Ecological Protection and Restoration

Source of funds: land development income

Operating points:

(1) The main bodies of ecological protection and restoration that have achieved a certain scale and expected goals in centralized contiguity of ecological restoration are allowed to obtain a certain share of the right to use natural resource assets in accordance with law and regulations, and engage in the development of tourism, health care, sports, facility agriculture and other industries; Among them, projects focusing on the restoration of forest and grass land can use no more than 3% of the restoration area to engage in ecological industry development.

(2) Implement the strictest cultivated land protection system, resolutely observe the red line of cultivated land, and resolutely curb the "non-agricultural" and "non-grain" cultivation of cultivated land. After the completion of the project, the land use shall be uniformly adjusted through the annual land change survey, and the real estate registration agency shall handle the relevant real estate registration according to the land use adjustment documents.

(3) Study and formulate relevant rules for ecosystem carbon sink projects to participate in national carbon emission rights trading, and gradually increase the ecosystem carbon sink trading volume.

(4) Guide social capital to scientifically prepare simple forest management plans, and enterprises with a certain scale of operation can independently prepare forest cutting quotas, and can independently cut trees according to laws and regulations upon examination and approval; Cutting down economic forest, energy forest, bamboo forest and non-forest trees.

National Reserve Forest Construction Plan (2018-2035) : China will build 20 million hectares of national reserve forest. We will promote new financing models such as "forest rights mortgage + government credit increase", PPP, "leading enterprises + forestry cooperatives + forest farmers", and enterprise independent management.

(5) Give full play to the driving role of government input, explore the introduction of social capital through PPP and other models to carry out ecological protection and restoration, and eligible people can enjoy corresponding preferential tax policies such as environmental protection, energy conservation and water saving according to regulations. Public welfare forests invested by social capital, which meet the conditions and are included in the zoning of public welfare forests according to regulations, can equally enjoy the relevant government subsidy policies. Support financial institutions to participate in ecological protection and restoration projects, broaden investment and financing channels, optimize credit evaluation methods, actively develop suitable financial products, and provide medium - and long-term financial support for projects in accordance with market-oriented principles.

Third, the impact of mining on ecological environment

1. Geomorphic landscape damage: mining damage the mountain terrain, damage the geomorphic landscape;

2. Destruction of land and soil resources: surface excavation, occupation, land destruction;

3. Mining geological disasters: the subsidence, collapse and collapse of the mining surface lead to landslide, debris flow and other secondary geological disasters;

4. Mine water, soil and air pollution: air, water environment, soil environment, noise, solid waste pollution;

5. Destruction of mine water resources: underground mining causes drainage of mine water and damages underground water system;

6. Destruction of mine biological resources: destruction and change of wildlife habitat environment, so that biodiversity is destroyed.