Innovation

The “Reconstruction of Mining Area, Recreating Green Water and Green Mountain” project is a great attempt at reforms by China Coal Pingshuo Group Co. According to the sponsor of the project, "We proposed the concept of a “green mine” in 2013, which is an organic combination of production and construction, land reclamation, and soil and water conservation. In August 2013, we established the standards for the mining process. That is, the integration of stripping, mining, backfilling, and reclamation. We require workers to use coal gangue to backfill the mined pits and introduce our special technology to improve the ecological environment of the area and to coordinate environmental, economic, and social benefits. In addition, we successfully established nine mines as pilots by 2018."

It can be seen that the project emphasizes the aftermath of mining. Different from traditional laissez-faire behavior, this innovation fills the gap in traditional aftercare work. It brings good reputation and more economic profits to enterprises through measures such as planting trees, water and soil management, and redevelopment of mining areas. On the issue of vegetation coverage, the project manager said: "Because our main mining areas are distributed in the Loess Plateau, the vegetation coverage of native landforms is even less than 10%, but after the reform of this project, we have increased the coverage of the mines after the backfilling to more than 90%."

According to the company's investigation, after a trial in 2018, there are now 213 species of plants, more than 600 species of insects, and more than 30 species of animals in the pilot mining area, which means that the biodiversity of the mining area has been reestablished.

The intelligent greenhouse is one of the most representative achievements of the project. Within the core of reclaimed land, the company has built a smart greenhouse development zone with a total area of 16,000 square meters. Among them are 300 solar greenhouses, museums and artificial lakes, and a variety of planting and breeding work carried out in the park. According to statistics from 2018, the greenhouse development area produces more than 3 million kilograms of vegetables and more than 4,000 lambs. In addition, an ecotourism area has been built around artificial lakes and museums in the development zone to attract tourists. The intelligent greenhouse truly realizes the ecological industrial chain of mining-agriculture-forestry-animal husbandry-biopharmaceutical industry-ecological tourism.

Inspiration

When it comes to why the innovation is being carried out, the manager of the project proposed three reasons: "The first is because our government has proposed relevant policies, such as the 'Geological Environmental Protection Regulations' and other laws and regulations that require the mining industry to propose new aftercare measures. Then, because our company correctly recognizes the environmental pollution problems that the energy industry will always face, timely reform can bring better development to the company, because the reform will promote a company to innovate, and innovation is the engine for the sustainable development of a company. Furthermore, as a large state-owned enterprise, we are willing to become an explorer in the industry and provide relevant experience for our counterparts at home and abroad."

Overall impact

The innovation was broadcast on CCTV in August 2018. After five years of ecological restoration and control of environmental risks, emissions of harmful gases are lower than the annual control target, and no major environmental incidents have occurred in the whole year. The project injects the genes of socially responsible management into the whole process of enterprise management, which stimulates and embodies the potential and synergy of stakeholders to create social value. And by effectively managing the impact of its operations on society and the environment, it maximizes the overall value of the economic, social, and environmental development of the company.

Business benefit

Different from traditional aftercare work, although the project's smart greenhouse and tourism park increased the cost of repair work in the mine, they can continue to create economic benefits for the company from various aspects, such as the sale of agricultural and pharmaceutical products and open tours. In addition, the development of the park will bring additional advertising revenue and a stronger reputation. Also, the project's innovation in the mining process can save energy and reduce emissions. In 2018, only one steam system optimization saved the company 11 million yuan, and sulfur dioxide emissions decreased by 35% compared with the previous year.

Social and environmental benefit

As for the environment, on the one hand, the amount of harmful gas emissions in the mining area has declined, most notably emissions of ammonia and nitrogen, which are nearly 50% lower than in the previous year. On the other hand, based on the industrial chain formed by the project, the greenhouse development zone provides more job opportunities for the local area. Through training and employment arrangements for the local workforce, the project has improved the overall quality of the workforce and narrowed the gap between the rich and the poor within the region. In addition, while carrying out the mine rehabilitation and development work, the project also brings benefits to surrounding villages, such as building roads, installing street lights, laying water pipes, and installing networks.

Interview

Zhanguo Chi, Project and Administrative Manager