Focus on Arts and Ecology

August 23-29, 2019

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has pointed the finger at a subsidiary company of China Minmetals. The factory of Yingkou Medium Plate, a metals producer in Liaoning province, was found to have breached emissions standards and cheated during its application to become a “green factory”. The status would have allowed it to increase operation time and production, China Energy News reported on 28 August.

MEE inspection teams also received complaints from local residents during their visit in June. One said the factory produces a red smoke whenever it runs: “It smells bad and I daren’t open my windows.” The factory has a history of illegal activity and was fined 40 times between 2014 and 2018, to the tune of 23 million yuan (US$3.2 million).

Only a week earlier, the MEE had revealed a list of environmental problems with another subsidiary of China Minmetals, Jiangxi-based Hongjin Rare Earths. According to MEE inspection teams, the company’s production process led to gas leaks, wastewater problems and the unsafe storage of chemicals. Having been fined for environmental violations before, the MEE criticised the company for its inaction over addressing problems originally identified in 2016.

In response, Hongjin Rare Earths have put operations on hold. While results for the second half of 2019 might take a hit, this month the company reported astounding profit increases of 246% in the first half of the year, possibly due to rare earth’s embroilment in the trade war.

Take a look at chinadialogue’s in-depth report on rare earth mining in China here