Index to the 1981 TAR map

A previous Tibetan Plateau blog post shared a downloadable link to a detailed map of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The map was published by the TAR Bureau of Cartography in 1981.

We have more good news: there is an exhaustive index for the 1981 TAR map available online here. This 500+ page index is compiled by Gregor Verhufen (Thank you Gregor!) in 1995.

 


The 1981 TAR map and the 1995 index to the map, together, undoubtedly constitute one of the richest and most helpful sources of information on (close to 9000!) Tibetan names of places, rivers, mountains, glaciers and lakes.

The map and the index, however, does not have names of Tibetan places outside TAR. Those interested in information on Tibetan places outside TAR are advised to refer to Steven Marshall and Susette Cooke's report, TIBET: Outside the TAR, which, hopefully, is still available for sale through the International Campaign for Tibet. Parts of the Marshall and Cooke's report are available here.

Readers are requested to share these resources with researchers and other people interested in Tibet.

Read more on this article...

Introduction to the Petroleum and Mineral Deposits of the Tibetan Plateau Preliminary Database and Map

Tibetan Plateau blog published a preliminary map and database of petroleum and mineral deposits of the Tibetan Plateau. The map and the database seek to provide an overview of publically available information regarding petroleum and mineral deposits on the Tibetan Plateau. We hope to be able to produce future versions of increasing completeness and accuracy. As improvements are completed they will be made available on the Internet for the public to view and download without charge. Our approach has sought to avoid excessive technicalities while giving sufficient information that the lay public can better assess the actually and potential economic, human rights, and environmental effects of resource exploration, extraction and processing on the Tibetan Plateau. For those that want more detailed information on the deposits or the geology of the region a list of academic references is provided. While we have attempted to include names of the companies working on the various deposits, detailed information about the governmental and/or corporate organizations will have to be obtained elsewhere.

The Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau in the PRC consists of the high altitude (generally over 3500 m.) region predominantly Tibetan culturally and historically. It consists of Tibet Autonomous region (Xizang), Qinghai, parts of Gansu, western Sichuan, and the northwest corner of Yunnan. Traditional Tibetan names for these areas being U-Tsang, Amdo, and Kham. Outside China the Tibetan Plateau extends into Ladakh, Spiti, Sikkim and Northeast India, as well as Mustang in Nepal. These are not considered in this map.

The following two maps created by the Environment and Development Desk of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala indicate the prefectures and counties of the Tibetan Plateau. The names given are those recognized by the Central Tibetan Administration.

The Databases
There are three databases in three Excel (.xls) spreadsheets: mineral deposits, salt lake and playa deposits, and petroleum deposits. The three databases have similar formats but have been separated as these different types of deposits are discovered and exploited differently.

Mineral deposits often require expensive exploration techniques, such as widespread stream, earth, and bedrock sampling, exploratory shafts, and diamond drilling. Both trenching and diamond drilling often leave surface modifications visible in Google Earth. Mines are either underground or open pit. They often can be recognized by the (blue roofed) buildings, evidence of exploration, a pit, and a tailings pond (an enclosed area where the waste material goes after processing the ore). Placer mining also often leaves visible traces such as pits and other damage to a river bed.

Salt lakes and playas (a deposit where the ancient salt lake has disappeared) are relatively easy to find and exploit. Tibetans have been exploiting salt lakes for salt, for trade and their own use, for hundreds of years. Basically all one needed to do is show up with a shovel and a means of getting the salt to the market. The relatively recent discovery that some salt lakes also include other valuable minerals like Lithium has added to the lakes' value. These additional minerals can be difficult to extract and could turn a simple, relatively clean operation into an environmental mess without proper application of environmental protection laws and technology. Officials are so often swayed by the opportunity to personally profit from a mining operation that it is unlikely that these will be applied. The Qiadam Basin in Qinghai contains a number of large salt lakes and playas, which have been exploited by the CCP since soon after the revolution.

Petroleum exploration is expensive, requiring large geological and geophysical surveys, and drilling at likely sites. It is carried by large organizations with deep pockets and close connections with the CCP, such as PetroChina. So far, on the Tibetan Plateau, the oil and gas have been found and extracted since the 1950's from the Qiadam Basin in Qinghai, but oil shale exploration is going on in TAR and China is currently looking forward to exploiting these deposits when oil prices get high enough to make it worthwhile.

"Opening Up the West"
Similar to the 19th century U.S. experience of occupying and assimilating the western region of North America through military intervention, subjection of the indigenous peoples, and immigration, in the late 1990s the PRC began a program of "Opening Up the West". This program included plans to build railways, roads, and airports in the western regions of China, the exploration and exploitation of mineral and petroleum resources, development of hydropower projects, and increased, mainly Chinese, tourism. These are supported on the plateau by a program to settle all nomads, forcing them to sell their stock and reside in villages built by the government, and immigration of Chinese workers to work at the mines, hydropower projects, and other construction projects. A thoroughgoing program of propaganda of suppressing outside observers, "patriotic reeducation", etc. while a presenting a "green" agenda and poverty aleviation as the motives to the world and the Chinese public is ongoing.

The plans have advanced considerable since the turn of the century. A railway from Golmud to Lhasa has been constructed, and other railways are in the works. Zangmu Hydropower Project, and many others are under construction throughout the plateau. The earlier small mines in Gyama have been consolidated into one large mine, and is presented as a model project, though it appears that considerable corruption of senior officials was involved. Many small mines operating, and mineral exploration projects are in progress on the plateau. Many of these are visible in Google Earth, or reported on in the media or Internet, even if there is no detailed written description of them available to the public. Primarily Chinese workers are employed on these projects. The local Tibetan population is poorly compensated for their loss of homes, pastures, farmland, or livestock. This type of behaviour is common in China, where CCP officials and their wealthy friends regularly push through mutually profitable projects at the expense of the people.

Hydropower and mining are intimately connected in the process of development. Electrical power is needed to operate mines, ore processing plants, smelters, and to provide some measure of comfort to attract immigrant workers. Mines provide the economic base to finance the hydropower projects, which are subsidized by Beijing.

The Contents of the Database
The database of deposits is in three .xls files, one for each of mineral deposits, salt lake and playa deposits, and petroleum deposits. The mineral deposit database is the real focus, but the others are important too. The minerals .xls file will be described.

The first column "Mapped?" simply indicates whether the deposit is on the map or not ("Y" or "N").

The second, third and fourth columns give the Name, Products, and Status of the deposit. There may be more than one Name given (e.g. "Deerni (Durngoi)").The Products are given in abbreviated form ("Au" rather than "Gold"). Status is one of ("Prospect", "Deposit", "Mine"). A Prospect is a deposit we are unsure about. A Deposit has known reserves for which there is good evidence. Either of these could be a mine but we don't know that at the time of publishing. A Mine is a deposit for which there is good evidence that it is being exploited. It may be small or large.

The next column, "Size", is a more complex measure of a deposit's significance. In general, we are treating Size as the amount of product the deposit contains (e.g. Cu 1.5 Mt), but more properly Size should take into account the Grade or the ore as well as how many tonnes have been proven (1% Cu X 50 Mt ore = 0.5 Mt Cu). The higher the Grade the cheaper the deposit is to exploit. The product is also important. For example, Gold is worth a lot more than Copper. 5 tonnes of gold is a Mine. 5 tonnes of copper is an Occurrence. Further, to give some indication of size where we don't have this information, the terms "Small", "Medium", and "Large" are used. The Geological Survey of Japan, along with their map of mineral deposits of Eastern Asia, has published a list of definitions for "Small, "Medium", and "Large" for different products. It classifies some deposits as Large that a practicing exploration geologist would consider small. For example, the Porphyry Copper deposits shown on the map, though Large by GSJ standards, are small by international mining standards (* PORPHYRY DEPOSITS, W.D. SINCLAIR, Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth Street, Ottawa)

The next three columns give the Province, Prefecture, and County of each deposit. Though inexact these give important location information. For example, we can tell who the local officials and administrators are, where the population lives relative to the deposit, what their source of incomes is, how many people there are, etc.. If coordinates are not currently available then this information also tells us where to look. Often Google Earth will reveal exploration or a mine once an approximate location is found. If nearby Chinese town/village names are also available then the Google Maps can help to give an even more precise location.

The following three columns give Latitude, Longitude, and Validity, a measure of the given location's accuracy: "GE", "vicinity", "estimated", and blank. A blank indicates we cannot give any supporting evidence that the location is correct, and currently are accepting a knowledgeable opinion. "Estimated" indicates the location is estimated from a map or other imprecise source, such as a Chinese academic article. These are rarely very precise as to deposit locations. "Vicinity" indicates the coordinates were given by a more or less reliable source of information, such as a journal article in the Western academic literature. "GE" indicates that in our opinion the given coordinates are exact (locates a point somewhere on the deposit), and if input to Google Earth will reveal the named deposit. The visible evidence may consist of a mine or signs of mineral exploration. Some cases are more certain than others. The coordinates are presented "as is". Corrections are welcome.

Some examples are:

The Yulong Mine showing the pit and blue roofed processing buildings. Coordinates are at the bottom left and the date of the image on the bottom right.

The Deerni Mine is an example of a much smaller operation than Yulong. Smaller mines are not difficult to find in Google Earth. Two photos showing the tailings pond and the processing plant were also found.

Qulong is a large (by Chinese standards), low grade Prophyry Copper-Gold deposit just east of Lhasa. The network of roads indicate the pattern of diamond drilling used to confirm the extent of the deposit.



The Chongjiang Porphyry Copper deposit is another example where in Google Earth the location of a deposit can be identified by the characteristic pattern of roads used for diamond drilling.

This map is from the 2003 Honglu Chinese website. Honglu was the Chinese company behind getting Continental Minerals involved in Xietongmen. It was also involved in arranging the Jiama Mine deal. The properties indicated were all listed several times with both Canadian and American securities regulators. Where we have no other information on the locations of the deposits these are examples of estimated locations.

The USGS has several large databases of mineral deposits around the world in the form of Google Earth kmz and kml files. Theseare several years old and do not use the latest available data. Where Google Earth has recent images available (obtained within the last few years), the coordinates given by the USGS, with a few exceptions, are found to be incorrect, but most likely in the vicinity of the named deposit. This claim is based on the experience of often being able to find in Google Earth a plausible deposit location in the vicinity of the USGS coordinates. The USGS kml and kmz databases may also fail sometimes by giving different coordinates for one deposit in different databases. In this case searching GE to locate the most plausible alternative is a necessity. Though the USGS website provides a site to send questions and requests for information, our experience is that when questions about accuracy of coordinates and inconsistency of kml databases about deposits on the Tibetan Plateau were made their China Specialist had no interest in correcting the errors in the USGS mineral deposit database. Though useful in a general way, the Geological Survey of Canada's kml database is sufficiently inaccurate with respect to coordinates that we stopped referring to it. A xls file can be downloaded from the Geological Survey of Japan. Though of interest, and doubtlessly the best data at the time, it wasn't particularly useful as well. Amateur deposit databases, such as that at mindat.org fared better, but like the USGS, GSC, GSJ databases are mainly based on coordinates given in academic articles, and are consequently only approximate. Despite this limitation, the USGS mineral deposit databases are invaluable. When used with Google Earth coordinates often can be corrected. Google Earth is constantly updating its database of satellite images and we believe in time every deposit of significance will be revealed by it.

Two examples of using Google Earth to investigate current issues.
1) Recent reports of extensive pollution from the area near Kumbum Gompa south of Xining in Qinghai were supported by GE images locating the large industrial area, a cement plant, and an open pit mine, all of which intersected the rivers on which the local population depended on and complained were being poisoned. The Google Earth views provide significant evidence of damage to the natural waterways.



2) In northern Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai, a large area called the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve, has been set aside, it is said, to protect the grasslands and the sources of the Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong Rivers. Nomads of the region have been forced to settle and sell their herds. A Canadian company Inter-Citic, in a Joint Venture with the Qinghai Geological Survey Institute, is carrying out exploration for gold on the northwest edge of this reserve, and they report having discovered a large deposit just outside the reserve. In Google Earth we can see their camp, and the damage they have done to the grasslands as the result of mineral exploration. There is a stream next to their camp, and if you follow it enters the reserve and, eventually, the Yellow River. The evidence given by GE images suggests that Inter-Citic is polluting the sources of the Yellow River. The area they are in should be in the reserve, if a reserve is necessary at all. Going 50 km to the east, in the heart of the reserve, exploration trenches are visible in GE, very similar to the trenches Inter-Citic has made to expose the bedrock for sampling. This raises the questions as to who is doing this exploration and why is it being permitted.



The next three columns give references. In those cases where they are not particularly solid, think of them as a thread that may lead somewhere useful.

Finally, where we could, owners of the deposit are given. We were not always able to do this in the time we had available, but these columns indicate the direction we are heading. Once a company is identified the people behind it can be identified, then the relations between them. Forbes recently published an article stating 90% of the 1000 richest people in China are either in the CCP or are very closely connected with it. This fact, along with well known high level of corruption of Chinese officials, may explain more than politics or culture.

Areas of Interest
There are several regions which standout with respect to certain types of deposits.
The Qiadam Basin in Haixi prefecture of Qinghai is noted for its numerous large salt lakes and its petroleum deposits. These have been exploited by the PRC since the 1950s.

Just to the north of the Qiadam Basin is a gold belt, the best known mine being Tanjianshan which a Joint Venture between Eldorado Gold Corp of Vancouver, Canada, Qinghai Number One Geological Brigade and Dachaidan Gold Mine (Qinghai).

To the south in Yushu Prefecture of Qinghai is the Songpan - Ganze Mobile Belt, which is associated with gold deposits. The belt extends across Qinghai from the Xoh Nature Reserve, into the Tibetan areas of Sichuan. The noted deposit in this region is the Dachang gold deposit which is owned by Inter-Citic (Canada) and the Qinghai Geological Survey Institute. Inter-Citic reports about 40 tonnes of reserves proven and inferred. Xinhua reports it has 195 tonnes confirmed and "will have proven reserves of 300 tonnes by 2015” ("China says Tibetan gold mine amongst largest in Asia", Phayul, August 30, 2011). While the quantities are exaggerated, and the logic sloppy, what this (Xinhua publishing a promotional article of this sort) does suggest is that the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve (SNNR) will be mined for gold at the very headwaters of the Yellow River. Similar gold deposits are expected to be found in the region. For example, 50 km. to the east, well within the SNNR, exploration trenches can be clearly seen.



A map published by Inter-Citic showing the locations of the Songpan-Ganze gold belt and the Dachang deposit.

In TAR several areas stand out with respect to particular minerals. Two of them, the Gangdese Porphyry Copper Belt extending east-west just north of the Yarlung Tsangpo in the region of Lhasa and the Yulong Porphyry Copper Belt extending north-south parallel to the Drichu from south Qinghai, through Qamdo into Yunnan, are clearly visible on the map. An additional Porphyry Copper belt may also exist in the Changtang.

A Lead-Zinc belt also follows the Nujiang. Chromium is found south the Yarlung Tsangpo in Shannon. There are a number of salt lakes in TAR but only Zabuye seems the only one to have been exploited profitably on any scale.

Information regarding Uranium deposits is a state secret in China. Two we know about are Zonglongde in Riwoche, Chamdo Prefecture, accidentally revealed in a China NetTV SEC filing, and No. 792 Uranium Mine in Thewo County, Gansu, reported in the media due to protests regarding its illegal reopening and resulting pollution. As well as Zonglongde, a number of other deposits in Chamdo mentioned in the China NetTV report are suspected to also be Uranium deposits: Yuqu, Panong, Qinong, and Gexiong. They were claimed to be deposits of minerals which are never extracted except as secondary products.

Internet Sources

ChinaMining

Hunter Dickinson (Continental Minerals, Shetongmon, Shigatse, TAR)

Eldorado (Tanjianshan, Haixi, Qinghai)

Geological Survey of Canada, World and Canadian Mineral Deposits

Geological Survey of Japan, Mineral Resources of East Asia

Google Earth Download

Inter-Citic (Dachang, Yushu, Qinghai)

Beijing Headman Mining Evaluation Firm

Huatailong, the company that operates the Gyama Mine
Mandarin Tools

mindat.org, mineralogical database

Phayul

Radio Free Asia

China Digital Times

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Corporate Filings Search

Canadian SEDAR

USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS)

USGS Mineral Resources On-Line Spatial Data


References
ACADEMIC ARTICLE LIST

If an article concerns a particular deposit, or collection of deposits, the primary name the deposit will follow the names of the authors and year. For example for the Jiama Mine it would look like (author, year, Jiama)

A

(An Yin and T. Mark Harrison, 2000, Himalayan Tibetan Orogen)
An Yin and T. Mark Harrison
GEOLOGIC EVOLUTION OF THE HIMALAYAN TIBETAN OROGEN
Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 2000. 28:211–80

B

(Bauer, K.; Childs, G., 2008)
Kenneth Bauer, Geoff Childs;
Demographics, Development, and the Environment in Tibetan Areas; 2008 - 04

C

(Chen Yongqing et al, 2008, Pulang)
Chen Yongqing, Huang Jingning, Liang Zhen
Geochemical Characteristics and Zonation of Primary Halos of Pulang Porphyry Copper Deposit, Northwestern Yunnan Province, Southwestern China
Journal of China University of Geosciences, Vol. 19, No. 4, p.371–377, August 2008

(Chengyou Feng et al, 2009, Tuolugou)
Chengyou Feng, Wenjun Qu, Dequan Zhang, Xingyan Dang, Andao Du, Daxin Li a, Hongquan She
Re–Os dating of pyrite from the Tuolugou stratabound Co(Au) deposit, eastern Kunlun Orogenic Belt, northwestern China
Ore Geology Reviews 36 (2009) 213–220

G

(X.X. Gu et al, 2002 et al, NW Sichuan Au)
X.X. Gu, J.M. Liub, O. Schulzc, F. Vavtarc, M.H. Zheng
Syngenetic origin for the sediment-hosted disseminated gold
deposits in NW Sichuan, China: ore fabric evidence
Ore Geology Reviews 22 (2002) 91– 116

(Guangming LI et al, 2006, Skarn Cu-Au±Mo Deposits)
Guangming LI, Kezhang QIN, Kuishou DING, Tiebing LIU, Jinxiang LI, Shaohuai WANG, Shanyuan JIANG and Xingchun ZHANG
Geology, Ar-Ar Age and Mineral Assemblage of Eocene Skarn Cu-Au±Mo Deposits in the Southeastern Gangdese Arc, Southern Tibet: Implications for Deep Exploration
RESOURCE GEOLOGY, vol. 56, no. 3, 315–336, 2006

(GUO Zu-jun et al, 2008, Qiangtang Petroleum)
GUO Zu-jun, LI Yong-tie, NAN Zheng-bing, YE He-fei
Relationship between deformation structure and petroleum accumulation and preservation, Qiangtang Basin, Tibet
PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT Volume 35, Issue 5, October 2008

H

(HE Shuye et al, 2009, Yazigou)
HE Shuyue，LI Dongsheng，LI Lianglin，QI Lanying and HE Shoufu
Re—Os Age of Molybdenite from the Yazigou Copper(Molybdenum) Mineralized Area in Eastern Kunlun of Qinghai Province，and Its Geological Significance
Geotectonica et Metallogenia V. 33, No. 2, 236-242, May 2009

(Hou Zengqian et al, 2003, Dongqinnong)
Hou Zengqian, Wang Liquan, Khin Zaw, Mo Xuanxue, Wang Mingjie, Li Dingmou, and Pan Guitang;
Post-collisional crustal extension setting and VHMS mineralization in the Jinshajiang orogenic belt, southwestern China. Ore Geology Reviews 22, 177-199; 2003

(Hou Zengqian et al, 2003, Yulong etc.)
HOU ZENGQIAN, MA HONGWEN, KHIN ZAW, ZHANG YUQUAN, WANG MINGJIE, WANG ZENG, PAN GUITANG, TANG RENLI;
The Himalayan Yulong Porphyry Copper Belt: Product of Large-Scale Strike-Slip
Faulting in Eastern Tibet; 2003

(Hou Zengqian et al, 2003, Yulong belt)
Hou Zengqian, Ma Hongwen, Khin Zaw, Zhang Yuquan, Wang Mingje, Wang Zeng, Pan Guitang, Tang Renli
The Himalayan Yulong Porphyry Copper Belt: Product of Large-Scale Strike-Slip Faulting in Eastern Tibet
Economic Geology Vol. 98, 2003, pp. 125–145

(Z.Q. Hou et al, 2004, Adakitic intrusives S Tibet)
Z.Q. Hou, Y.F. Gao, X.M. Qu, Z.Y. Rui, X.X. Mo
Origin of adakitic intrusives generated during mid-Miocene east-west extension in southern Tibet
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 220 (2004) 139-155

(Zengqian Hou et al, 2007, Sanjiang metallogenesis)
Zengqian Hou, Khin Zaw, Guitang Pan, Xuanxue Mo, Qiang Xu, Yunzhong Hu, Xingzhen Li
Sanjiang Tethyan metallogenesis in S.W. China: Tectonic setting, metallogenic epochs and deposit types
Ore Geology Reviews 31 (2007) 48–87

(Hou Zengqian, 2007, Yulong)
Hou Zengqian, Xie Yuling, Xu Wenyi, Li Yinqing, Zhu Xlangkun, Khin Zaw, G, Beaudoin, Rui Zongyao, HUang Wei, Luobu Ciren
Yulong Deposit, Eastern Tibet: A High-Sulfidation Cu-Au Porphyry Copper Deposit in the Eastern Indo-Asian Collision Zone
International Geology Review, Vol. 49, 2007, p. 235–258.

(HOU Zeng-qian et al, 2006, Tibetan Plateau Metallogeneses)
HOU Zeng-qian, MO Xuan-xu, YANG Zhi-ming, WANG An-jian, PAN Gui-tang, QU Xiao-ming, NIE Feng-un
Metallogeneses in the collisional orogen of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau：Tectonic
setting, tempo-spatial distribution and ore deposit types
GEOLOGY IN CHINA Vol．33．No．2, Apr，2006

(Zengqian Hou et al, 2007, Sanjiang Metallogenesis)
Zengqian Hou, Khin Zaw, Guitang Pan, Xuanxue Mo, Qiang Xu, Yunzhong Hu, Xingzhen Li;
Sanjiang Tethyan metallogenesis in S.W. China: Tectonic setting, metallogenic epochs and deposit types; 2007

(Zengqian Hou et al, 2008, Gangdese porphyry copper belt)
Zengqian Hou, Zhiming Yang, Xiaoming Qu, Xiangjin Meng, Zhenqing Li, G. Beaudoin, Zongyao Rui, Yongfeng Gao, Khin Zaw;
The Miocene Gangdese porphyry copper belt generated during post-collisional extension in the Tibetan Orogen; 2008

(Zengqian Hou et al, 2009, REE Belt)
Zengqian Hou, Shihong Tian, Yuling Xie, Zhusen Yang, Zhongxin Yuan, Shuping Yin,
Longsheng Yi, Hongcai Fei, Tianren Zou, Ge Bai, Xiaoyu Li
The Himalayan Mianning–Dechang REE belt associated with carbonatite–alkaline
complexes, eastern Indo-Asian collision zone, SW China
Ore Geology Reviews 36 (2009) 65–89

(Zengqian Hou & Nigel Cook, 2009, Tibet Metallogenesis)
Zengqian Hou, Nigel J. Cook
Metallogenesis of the Tibetan collisional orogen: A review and introduction
to the special issue
Ore Geology Reviews 36 (2009) 2–24

(Hu Rui-Zhong, 2002, Carlin Au)
Hu Rui-Zhong, Su Wen-Chao, Bi Xian-Wu, Tu Guang-Zhi, Albert H. Hofstra
Geology and geochemistry of Carlin-type gold deposits in China
Mineralium Deposita (2002) 37: 378–392

J

(Jiajun Liu, 2002, Sichuan Au Deposits)
Jiajun Liu, Minghua Zheng, Jianming Liu, Xuexiang Gua,
Yufeng Zhou, Caixia Feng
Mechanical transport of metallogenic materials in endogenic hydrothermal solutions: evidence from the microspherules in micro-disseminated gold deposits, northwestern Sichuan, China
Ore Geology Reviews 22 (2002) 1 –16

(Jiankang Li et al, 2006, Jiajika)
Jiankang Li, Denghong Wang, Dehui Zhang, and Xiaofang Fu;
The Source of ore-forming Fluid in Jiajika Pegmatite Type Lithium Polymetallic Deposit, Sichuan Province. Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica [Yanshikuang Wuxue Zazhi] 25(1), 45-52; (2006)

(Jingwen Mao et al, 2002, Zhebo)
Jingwen Mao, Yumin Qiu, Goldfarb, R.J., Zhaochong Zhang, Garwin, S., and Ren Fengshou ;
Geology, distribution, and classification of gold deposits in the western Qinling belt, central China. Mineralium Deposita 37(3/4), (2002)

(Jinxiang Li et al, 2011, Duolong Bangongco)
Jinxiang Li, Kezhang Qin, Guangming Li, Bo Xiao, Junxing Zhao, Lei Chen
Magmatic-hydrothermal evolution of the Cretaceous Duolong gold-rich
porphyry copper deposit in the Bangongco metallogenic belt, Tibet: Evidence
from U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 41 (2011) 525–536

K

(Khin Zaw et al, 2007, Deposit types of S. China)
Khin Zaw, Stephen G. Peters, Paul Cromie, Clive Burrett, Zengqian Hou
Nature, diversity of deposit types and metallogenic relations of South China
Ore Geology Reviews 31 (2007) 3–47

L

(Lafitte, G, 2007)
Gabriel Lafitte;
Current State of Mining in Tibet; 2007

(LI Guangming et al, 2005 ,Gangdese belt dating)
LI Guangming, RUI Zongyao, WANG Gaoming, LIN Fangcheng, LIU Bo, SHE Hongquan, FENG Chengyou, QU Wenjun
Molybdenite Re-Os dating of Jiama and Zhibula polymetallic copper deposits in Gangdese metallogenic belt of Tibet and its significance
MINERAL DEPOSITS May 2005

(LI Jian-kang et al, 2006, Jiajika)
LI Jian-kang, WANG Den-hong, ZHANG De-hui and FU Xiao-fang
The source of ore-forming fluid in Jiajika pegmatite type lithium polymetallic deposit，Sichuan Province
ACTA PETROLOGICA ET MINERALOGICA, Vol 25, No 1, Jan．2006

M

(MA Hui—ying, 2009. Xiaowolong)
MA Hui—ying，LIU Ji-shun，YIN Li—jun，LIU De-li，YANG Li—gon
Geological feature and exploration sign of Xiaowolong tin-iron—tungsten polymeallic deposit in Dulanxian in Qinghai province
MINERAL RESOURCES AND GEOLOGY V01．23，NO．4 Aug．2009

(Steffen Mischke, 2010, Qaidam Basin)
Steffen Mischke, Zhencheng Sun, Ulrike Herzschuh, Zizhen Qiao, Naida Sun
An ostracod-inferred large Middle Pleistocene freshwater lake in the presently
hyper-arid Qaidam Basin (NW China)
Quaternary International 218 (2010) 74–85

P

Stephen G. Peters, Warren J. Nokleberg, Jeff L. Doebrich, Walter J. Bawiec, Greta Orris, David M. Sutphin, and David R. Wilburn
Geology and Nonfuel Mineral Deposits of Asia and the Pacific
Open-File Report 2005 –1294C, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey

(Stephen G. Peters et al, 2005, USGS Mineral Deposits of Asia)

(SHE Hongquan et al, 2005, Gangdese skarn)
SHE Hongquan, FENG Chengyou, ZHANG Dequan, PAN Guitang, LI Guangming
Characteristics and metallogenic potential of skarn copper-lead-zinc polymetallic deposits in central eastern Gangdese
MINERAL DEPOSITS May 2005

Q

(Qu Xiaoming et al, 2007, Gangdese Porphyry Genesis)
Qu Xiaoming, Zengqian Hou, Khin Zaw, Li Youguo
Characteristics and genesis of Gangdese porphyry copper deposits in the southern Tibetan Plateau: Preliminary geochemical and geochronological results
Ore Geology Reviews 31 (2007) 205–223

R

S

(SHE Hong—quan et al, 2007, Ulan Uzhur)
Geological characteristics and genesis of the Ulan Uzhur porphyry copper deposit in Qinghai
SHE Hong—quan, ZHANG De—quan, JING xiang—yan, GUAN Jun,
ZHU Hua—pin, FENG cheng—you, LI Da一xin
GEOLOGY IN CHINA V01．34．No．2 Apr., 2007

(Shen Yongsheng et al, 2009, Hongshuihe)
SHEN Yong—sheng，WANG Xu—chun，ZHANG Yu·jie
Study on genesis and geological characteristics of Hongshuihe iron deposit in Qinghai province
MINERAL RESOURCES AND GEOLOGY V01．23，No．4 Aug．，2009

Shenghao Yan et al, 2003, Meiduo)
mindat

(SHE Hong—quan et al, 2007, Ulan Uzhur)
Geological characteristics and genesis of the Ulan Uzhur porphyry copper deposit in Qinghai
SHE Hong—quan，ZHANG De—quan，JING xiang—yan，GUAN Jun，
ZHU Hua—pin，FENG cheng—you，LI Da一xin
GEOLOGY IN CHINA V01．34．No．2 Apr．，2007

(Sihong Jiang et al, 2009, Mayum)
Sihong Jiang, Fengjun Nie, Peng Hu, Xinrong Lai, Yifei Liu
Mayum: an orogenic gold deposit in Tibet, China
Ore Geology Reviews 36 (2009) 160–173

(Singer, D.A. et al, 2008, Porphyry Cu Deposits)
Singer, D.A., Berger, V.I., and Moring, B.C.:
Porphyry copper deposits of the world: Database and grade and tonnage models, 2008. US Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008-1155; (2008)

T

(Taihe Zhou et al, 2002, Gold deposit in China)
Taihe Zhou, Richard J. Goldfarb, G. Neil Phillips
Tectonics and distribution of gold deposits in China – an overview
Mineralium Deposita (2002) 37: 249–282

(TANG Gao-lin et al., 2006, Liwu)
TANG Gao-lin,WANG Fa-qing,QOU Lin-lin;
Geological Characteristics and Prospecting Perspective of the Liwu Copper Deposit in Sichuan,WS China; 2006 - 04

V

(A. Vengosh, 1995, Qaidam Basin)
A. Vengosh, A.R. Chivas, A. Starinskyb, Y. Kolodnyb, Zhang Baozhenc, Zhang Pengxi
Chemical and boron isotope compositions of non-marine brines from the Qaidam Basin, Qinghai, China
ChemicalGeology 120 (1995) 135-154

W

(R.L. Wang, 2002, Zabuye)
R.L. Wang, S.C. Scarpitta, S.C. Zhang, M.P. Zheng
Later Pleistocene/Holocene climate conditions of Qinghai-Xizhang Plateau (Tibet) based on carbon and oxygen stable isotopes of Zabuye Lake sediments
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 203 (2002) 461-477

(WANG Gui-hong et al, 2008, N Qaidam Basin)
WANG Gui-hong, MA Da-de, ZHANG Qi-quan, LI Jun
Basin-mountain tectonic pattern and hydrocarbon exploration domain in north margin of Qaidam Basin
PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT Volume 35, Issue 6, December 2008

(Wang Jun, Zhang Jun, 2001, Mazhala)
Wang Jun, Zhang Jun
Metallogenic character and prospecting direction of the Mazhala gold-antimony deposit, southern Tibet
Gold Geology Vol. 7, No. 3, Sep. 2001

(WEI Lejun, 2002, Dongco)
WE1 Lejun, ZHENG Mianping, LIU Xifang, CAI Keqin, NIE Ben
Discovery of Borax-bearing Mirabilite Beds in Dong Co, Northern Tibet, and Its Palaeoclimatic Significance
Vol. 76 No. 3 ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA Sept. 2002

(Wenxin Xu et al, 2000, Tongyugou)
Wenxin Xu, Minyang Chen, Chunyong Pang, and Heng Li : Pb Isotope Study of Some Nonferrous Metallic Deposits in China. Acta Geologica Sinica 74(2), 316-320; (2000)

(Weiguang Zhu et al, 2001, Xiacun)
Weiguang Zhu, Chaoyang Li, and Hailin Deng;
Sulfur and lead isotope geochemistry of the Xiacun silver-polymetallic ore deposit in Sichuan Province. Acta Mineralogica Sinica 21(2), 219-224; (2001)

(WU Xiaoxia et al, 2007, Galinge)
WU Xiaoxia, BAO Guangying, YI Youchang, ZHANG Fenying
The Study on the Genesis and Geological Characteristics of Galinge High - Grade Iron Deposit of Qinghai Province
Gold Science and Technology V. 15, No. 4, Aug. 2007

(Wenyi Xu et al, 2009, Xiongcun)
Wenyi Xu, Fengchu Pan, Xiaoming Qu, Zengqian Hou, Zhusen Yang, Weishi Chen,
Dan Yang, Yanhe Cui
Xiongcun, Tibet: A telescoped system of veinlet-disseminated Cu (Au) mineralization and late vein-style Au (Ag)-polymetallic mineralization in a continental collision zone
Ore Geology Reviews 36, 174–193; (2009)

X

(Xiang Huang et al, 2010, Jiama)
Xiang Huang, Mika Sillanp, Egil T. Gjessing, Sirpa Peräniemi, Rolf D. Vogt;
Environmental impact of mining activities on the surface water quality in Tibet:
Gyama valley; 2010 - 05

(Xiangjin Meng et al, 2007, Luobadui)
Xiangjin Meng, Zengqian Hou, Peisheng Ye, Zhushen Yang, Zhenqing Li, and Yongfeng Gao;
Characteristics and ore potentiality of Gangdese silver-polymetallic mineralization belt in Tibet. Mineral Deposits 26(2), 153-162; (2007)
(Xiaoliang Feng et al, 2007, Liwu)

(Xiaofeng Li, 2007, Daduhe Au)
Xiaofeng Li, Jingwen Mao, Chunzeng Wang, Yasushi Watanabe
The Daduhe gold field at the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau: He, Ar, S, O, and H isotopic data and their metallogenic implications
Ore Geology Reviews 30 (2007) 244–256

Xiaoliang Feng, Mingjie Wang, Chengmin Wen, and Huihua Zhang;
The Preliminary Study of the Exploration Potential of the Liwu Copper Deposit and Its Surrounding Areas, Western Sichuan. Sedimentary Geology and Tethyan Geology [Chenji Yu Tetisi Dizhi] 28(1), 9-13; (2007)

(Xiaoming Qu, 2006, Hongbo Xin, Gaerqiong)
Xiaoming Qu and Hongbo Xin ;
Ages and tectonic environment of the Bangong Co porphyry copper belt in western Tibet, China. Geological Bulletin of China 25(7), 792-799; 2006

(Xinyou Zhu et al, 2006, Xitieshan)
Xinyou Zhu, Jiniu Deng, Jingbin Wang, Longjun Lin, and Junchang Fan;
Study of two types of ore bodies in Xitieshan lead-zinc SEDEX deposit, Qinghai Province. Mineral Deposits 25(3), 252-262.(2006)

(Xiugen Fu et al, 2009, Shengli Oil Shale)
Xiugen Fu, Jian Wang, Yuhong Zeng, Fuwen Tan, Jianglin He
Concentrations and modes of occurrence of platinum group elements in the
Shengli River oil shale, northern Tibet, China
Fuel 89 (2010) 3623–3629

(Xiugen Fu et al, 2010, Changshe Oil Shale)
Xiugen Fu, Jian Wang, Yuhong Zeng, Fuwen Tan, Xinglei Feng
REE geochemistry of marine oil shale from the Changshe Mountain area, northern Tibet, China
International Journal of Coal Geology 81 (2010) 191–199

(Xiugen Fua, 2011, Shengli Oil Shale)
Xiugen Fua, Jian Wanga, Yuhong Zengb, Fuwen Tana, Jianglin Hea
Geochemistry and origin of rare earth elements(REEs) in the Shengli River oil shale, northern Tibet, China
Chemie der Erde71( 2011) 21–30

Y

Yang Jingsui, Shi Rendeng, Wu Cailai, Wang Xibin
Dur'ngoi Ophiolite in East Kunlun, Northeast Tibetan Plateau: Evidence for Paleo-Tethyan Suture in Northwest China
Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 20, No. 2, p. 303–331, April 2009

(Yang Jingsui, 2009, Dur'ngoi Ophiolite)

(Wenbo Yang et al, 1995, Dabusun)
Wenbo Yang, Ronald J. Spencer, H. Roy Krouse, Tim K. Lowenstein, E. Casas
Stable isotopes of lake and fluid inclusion brines, Dabusun Lake,
Qaidam Basin, western China: Hydrology and paleoclimatology
in arid environments
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 117 (1995) 279-290

(Yanjing Chen, 2007, Kendekeke)
Yanjing Chen, Huayong Chen, Khin Zaw, Pirajno, F., and Zengjie Zhang;
Geodynamic settings and tectonic model of skarn gold deposits in China: An overview. Ore Geology Reviews 31, 139-169; (2007)

(YAO Peng et al, 2002, Jiama Qulong)
YAO Peng ,WANG Quan-hai,LI Jin-gao;
Ore and ore resource prospects of the Jiama-Qulong ore concentration area,Tibet; 2002 - 02

(Yuwang Wang, 2000, Deerni)
Yuwang Wang, Kezhang Qin, Yanggeng Tan, and Zenqian Hou;
The Derni Cu-Co Massive Sulfide Deposit, Qinghai Province, China: Ultramafic Volcanic-hosted Submarine-exhalative Mineralization. Exploration and Mining Geology 9(3/4), 253-264; (2000)

(Yuqi Dang et al, 2008, Qaidam Gas)
Yuqi Dang, Wenzhi Zhao, Aiguo Su, Shuichang Zhang_, Maowen Li, Ziqiang Guan, Dade Ma, Xinling Chen, Yanhua Shuai, Huitong Wang, Yanhu Tan, Ziyuan Xu
Biogenic gas systems in eastern Qaidam Basin
Marine and Petroleum Geology 25 (2008) 344–356

(YU Pu—sheng et al, 2007, N. Plateau Mineral Belts)
YU Pu—sheng，LI Rong—she，JI Wen—hua，YANG Yong—cheng，MENG Yong，ZHAO Zhen—ming，CHEN Shou—jian
Division of Metallogenic Belts in the Northern Qinghai—Tibet Plateau
NORTHWESTERN GEOLOGY V01．40 No．4 2007

Z

(Zhang Lin et al, 2009, Gaerqiong)
ZHANG Lin，XIAO Yuan-fu，HU Tao
Geological Characteristics and Analysis of Ore-forming Conditions for Copper Deposits of Gaer-qiong in Tibet
Sichuan Nonferrous Metals October 2009

(ZHANG Chun-lin et al, 2008, Gas Hure)
ZHANG Chun-lin, GAO Xian-zhi, LI Yan-fei, MA Da-de
Petroleum migration in the Gas Hure Oilfield, Qaidam Basin, NW China
PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT Volume 35, Issue 3, June 2008

(Zhang Dequan et al, 2009, Tanjianshan)
Zhang Dequan, She Hongquan, Feng Chengyou, Li Daxin, Li Jinwen;
Geology, age, and fluid inclusions of the Tanjianshan gold deposit, western China:
Two orogenies and two gold mineralizing events; 2009 - 06

(Zhang Xiaobao et al, 2003, Qaidam Oil & Gas)
ZHANG Xiaobao, HU Yong, DUAN Yi, MA Liyuan, MENG Zifang, HE Peng,
ZHOU Shixin and PENG Dehua
Geochemical Characteristics and Origin of Natural Gases in the Qaidam Basin, China
Vol. 77 No. 1, ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA ,March 2003

(Zhang Ying et al, 2009, E. Qaidam Gas)
Zhang Ying, Li Zhisheng, Wang Dongliang, Wang Xiaobo
Geochemical characteristics and play targets of gas in eastern Qaidam Basin, NW China
PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT Volume 36, Issue 6, December 2009 Online English edition of the Chinese language

(ZHENG YouYe et al, 2007, Zhunuo)
ZHENG YouYe, ZHANG GangYang, XU RongKe,GAO ShunBao, PANG YingChun, CAO Liang, DU AnDao & SHI YuRuo
Geochronologic constraints on magmatic intrusions and mineralization of the Zhunuo porphyry copper deposit in Gangdese, Tibet
Chinese Science Bulletin, November 2007, vol. 52, no. 22, 3139-3147

(Zhiming Yang et al, 2009, Qulong)
Zhiming Yang, Zengqian Hou, Noel C. White, Zhaoshan Chang, Zhenqing Li, Yucai Song;
Geology of the post-collisional porphyry copper–molybdenum deposit at Qulong, Tibet; 2009 - 03

(Zhusen Yang et al, 2009, TAR Sb)
Zhusen Yang, Zengqian Hou, Xiangjin Meng, Yingchao Liu, Hongcai Fei, Shihong Tian,
Zhenqing Li, Wei Gao
Post-collisional Sb and Au mineralization related to the South Tibetan detachment
system, Himalayan orogen
Ore Geology Reviews 36 (2009) 194–212

(Zigui Yan, 2006, Gala)
Zigui Yan ;
Geological Characteristics of Gold Deposits in Ganzi-Litang Fault Zone and Preliminary Discussion on Their Ore-Control Factors. Contributions to Geology and Mineral Resources Research [Dizhi Zhaokuang Luncong] 21(s), (2006)

Read more on this article...

Using Google Earth to Monitor Mining in Tibet 3: Example of Gyama

Mining is one of the biggest topics of concern today. In the past, China could not exploit Tibet's rich mineral resources on a large scale due to lack of technology, capital and transportation facilities. Mining in Tibet was simply too expensive for China. China also lacked the political confidence to open Tibet to Western mining companies. Today, however, things have changed. With a railway line connecting the heart of Tibet, Lhasa, with the major Chinese cities all the way to Beijing, transportation of materials is cheap and easy. China has also become a global economic power and its confidence in dealing with overt Tibetan opposition is at a high. Today it is actively seeking collaboration with, or rather more accurately, it is seeking investment from Western companies to extract Tibet's gold, copper and other precious minerals. China now wants to voraciously exploit the mineral resources of Tibet and other areas such as Xinjiang to meet its skyrocketing domestic demands. China needs to create an independent resource base and Tibet is key in achieving that goal.

Big Western mining companies such as Rio Tinto have so far refrained from investing in Tibet, as a politically sensitive region. Only smaller companies willing to take the risk for potentially big profits have entered Tibet. However, their experiences have been jinxed so far. Vancouver based Continental Minerals, for example, faced the wrath of local people when two of their local employees were taken hostage and their jeep overturned and infrastructure destroyed in a protest a few years ago. Then they faced heavy criticism from Tibetan rights groups such as Students for a Free Tibet and Canada Tibet Committee. This was followed by unpleasant experiences working with their Chinese counterparts, finally being acquired at a large discount by the Gansu based Jinchuan Group Ltd last year.

In this blog post, I will share Google Earth images of the Gyama mine, which is located in Medrogungkar county near Lhasa. Tibetan Plateau blog has a post about Gyama and other mines under the title of Canada and Crimes Against the Tibetan People. For information about the mine, see a recent Vancouver Media Co-op article and Woser's article in Chinese or an English translation by High Peaks Pure Earth. For those interested in technical scientific studies about the impact of the Gyama mine on local water system, see here. Tibetan readers can see this report about about the poisoning of local waters and clashes between locals and miners.


The confluence of two rivers that form the Gyama Valley:




The main processing plant located right near the confluence and on traditional farming land. Google Earth on Tibet tip: if you find a blue colored roof, zoom in to often find something of interest:




Scarred mountains, evidence of intense drilling, which will become open pit mines of Gyama very soon:



Initial signs of open pit mine with trucks on mountain top. Notice the image was taken in November 2009:



Remember the clashes between locals and miners over water? Here's some evidence. Water being piped from river source right through the middle of people's fields:




Further upstream on the other tributary of Gyama River, you see this mine site. One of the great tools you can use in Google Earth is a time machine you can drag to see how the site looked at different times. Notice this image below was shot on December 17 2007, when the tailings pond is mostly empty and the open pit mine is not as deep:




Fast forward the image to the latest version of Nov 4 2009, and you can see the tailings pond filled and the mine dug much deeper:




Continue to go further upstream, and you will find this suspicious site. Are those soldiers standing together on the NNE of the blue structure? You can also see houses, vehicles and construction machinery:



Go further upstream and you will find this frightening sight. Huge areas covering several mountains have been drilled to prospect minerals here. I hope I am wrong but this is most likely the Qulong Copper Deposit, which was reported by the China Geological Survey in 2009 to contain at least 9 million tonnes of copper, plus molybdenum and silver. The Gyama mine, by comparison, has proven reserves of 2.2 million tonnes of copper. According to the International Mining, February 2010 issue (page 40): "In copper, the most famous deposit is Qulong, according to Chen Renyi and Xue Yingxi of the China Geological Survey. They say “With proved reserves of nearly 9 Mt, Qulong will soon be the largest copper deposit in China, and the perspective reserves are over 14-18 Mt.”"



If you follow the zig zag roads of this mine site to the West, it will curiously end near these two lakes, one of which is dry. Were they thinking of using these two remote lakes (5190 meters) as dumping sites for wastes?



These images are examples. The Tibetan Plateau is littered with mine sites, especially smaller sites. I will refrain from inundating this post with GE images. Look for these yourselves and please share information.

This blog post is the third in a series to advocate the use of Google Earth to monitor development projects inside Tibet.

You can easily locate the sites shown above on Google Earth by tracking the coordinates (latitude and longitude) shown at the bottom of the images.
Read more on this article...

"A Drop of Tear: Nyenpo Yutse's Cry for Help"

This is a translation and re-creation of a Tibetan language blog post by Kunga Tsayang, also known by his pen name Gangnyi (གངས་ཉི་ or "Sun of the Snow"). The original post is not available, as are all other posts on the major Tibetan language blog site, tibetabc.cn, at least since the Janurary of 2010. Thanks to High Peaks Pure Earth, which had saved a copy of the original post on 26 March 2009, Tibetan Plateau blog and Tesi Environmental Awareness Movement are able to present the following translation.

The author, Kunga Tsayang or Gangnyi, was arrested by Chinese authorities on 17 March 2009 and sentenced to 5 years of prison on 17 November 2009 on various charges including posting articles online. Gangnyi is one of the many Tibetan writers, artists and educators who are being arrested or punished by the Chinese government in the recent years, as reported on the blog of Lungrig Gyal, editor of Tibet Times (བོད་ཀྱི་དུས་བབ༑). The following post is an evidence that Gangnyi was an environmental activist and reporter.


The first page of the saved original blog post

མིག་ཆུ་རྡོག་གཅིག༑ གཉེན་པོ་གཡུ་རྩེའི་འོ་དོད༑
A Drop of Tear: Nyenpo Yutse's Cry for Help


Purely beautiful


The mountains, waters and forests of my country are scarred with these unhealable wounds.





Despite forty years of mining, from the beginning of eighties till now, one cay say that no benefits to the locals are seen or heard.




Effects of coal mining: The holy mountain in the ancestral land of the three tribes of Golok people has been scarred with unhealable wounds. The glacier of the upper valley is visibly melting; the lakes and the streams are dwindling and the trees and plants of the lower valleys are dying out silently. All these have happening for years, yet nobody in the area seems to pay attention. So after two years of studying the situation we on behalf of the local people urged local authority to stop these mining activities.







As par the written decision of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which states that "The sources of resource depletion and environmental pollution are backward modes of production. The local authorities should decisively enforce the necessary national laws, guidelines and policy to quickly stop such activities." Accordingly, these non-beneficial and polluting activities should be stopped immediately. [The written decision of the Party also states that] "Whoever develops a region should also preserve it; whoever destroys the environment should restore it and whoever receive benefits should also compensate." So according to this principle, it is high time that those who caused this destruction and received benefits take responsibility for their actions.
Read more on this article...

"Flower power monk protects 'wild west'"

The following article, including photos, is from China Daily. Thanks to a reader for sharing this article. It's about a monk's research and public education work on flowers of the Tibetan Plateau. Normally I add articles of interest published elsewhere on a separate "Other Stories" page, but this one gets a special place on the Tibetan Plateau Blog. I hope Sonam Konchog la's story inspires more Tibetans to engage in environmental or other such research and education initiatives, and not be completely bogged down by religion or politics.




Flower power monk protects 'wild west'
By Guo Shuhan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-01 09:52

Sonam Konchog, 44, is obsessed with flowers. The lama of Serkhang Monastery in southwestern Qinghai province has spent a good part of his life observing the plants blanketing the holy Gadoiqowo Mountain in Chindu county, Yushu Tibetan prefecture.

"Have you ever gazed at a flower for more than a minute? If you have, you'll know you can communicate with them," he says.

This passionate man of flowers has compiled an illustrated pamphlet of the indigenous flora and distributed it to the villagers in this area. Sonam believes that only when they become aware of their natural environment, will they be motivated to stop tourists and pilgrims from picking the flowers at will.

In the 25 years that he has spent at the monastery, Sonam has traveled to the holy mountain every August, as dictated by his religion. The numerous flowers fascinated him and he began to set aside some money to buy himself a camera. He finally got one in 2004.

Flowers in full bloom always draw his full attention. His favorite is the red poppywort. The lama seems to share a special relationship with this tiny flower with bright red petals and a sweet fragrance. Sonam sets off on its trail between May and June, as the flower stays in bloom for just four short days.


Red poppywort is an endangered species. Courtesy of Sonam Konchog

A senior lama of the monastery, who specializes in traditional Tibetan medicine, told Sonam the flower is good for the liver and lungs. It was once common in the area, but is becoming harder to find, as are many other kinds of plants.

In 2005, Sonam decided to do something to protect these flowering plants. Every year, he along with 19 other monks and villagers, visits the mountain in August when the flowers are in bloom.

In 2008, he put together some 200 pictures of different flowers into a pamphlet titled Botany Archives of Holy Gadoiqowo Mountain. Each flower is carefully catalogued with its name in Tibetan, English, Latin and Chinese. The pamphlet also details the medicinal properties of the flowers, if any.

Thanks to help from the Shanshui Conservation Center, an organization for bio-diversity conservation founded by professor Lu Zhi of Peking University, and the Qinghai Forest Bureau, 1,500 copies of the pamphlet have been distributed to the locals for free.

"We have been looking for people like Sonam who are dedicated and capable in environment protection," Lu says. "These grass-root conservationists are actually the most powerful force in protecting China's wild west."

Sonam has included parts of the pamphlet in 1,000 textbooks, in Tibetan, for students, which he has helped edit. He has enlisted the support of herdsmen to ensure these flowers are not picked, and also made a short documentary about dandelions last year for a video project sponsored by the EU-China Biodiversity Program.

The project invited 10 amateur filmmakers to articulate the challenges for biological and cultural diversity. Eight documentaries were shown last December in Kunming, Yunnan province.

"We Tibetan Buddhists revere nature. The pamphlet tells people that plants cannot survive if torn from their roots.

"I trust the good nature of the locals. Their care of plants and animals will bring about a lasting harmonious relationship with the holy mountain, which has blessed us generation after generation," Sonam says. Read more on this article...

Avatar, despite criticisms, is a welcome movie

Criticisms of Avatar, the movie, is getting a bit too much. There are all these reviews online, most of them describing the movie's story as unimaginative and cliched. And now the Vatican news agencies have joined the bandwagon calling the movie "simplistic" and promoting nature worship as a substitute for religion. Avatar's story, despite all its "simplistic" and "racist" overtones, raises thought-provoking and philosophical questions that are good for our capitalistic society. Avatar is a welcome story, as far as I am concerned.



As for the Vatican's dismissal of nature worship, I think the comment operates at a disturbingly deeper level of racism than Avatar showing a white man as the rescuer of the natives. Religious leaders, please stop saying this or that religious practice is bad or "primitive." That doesn't make you look any better. Don't hate, appreciate. Avatar has done a great service to the environmental movement and the cause of indigenous peoples of the world. I don't think a single film or educational material on these topics has ever reached (and touched) so many people in such a short period of time. People now have some ideas about aspects of Native American, African, Maori and other wisdom cultures of the world. Our world. It's unfortunate that many people today continue to see indigenous cultures, just like the human invaders of the movie, as "tree hugger crap" or in the words of Vatican media, "nature worship."

One of my favorite books is Ian Baker's Heart of the World: Journey to the Last Secret Place on Earth. In the book, Baker describes how Tibetan tribals of the Eastern Himalayan region of Pema Koe hunt Takin, an endemic animal, and offer ritual prayers believed to liberate the soul of the animals into a blissful heavenly realm. This story resonated when Neytiri, the Na'vi girl who saves Jake, the protaganist, from a wild dog-like animal and prays after killing the animal. Praying for a deceased soul is not nature worship. Perhaps the Na'vi people doing their ritual around the sacred tree is more along the lines of what the Vatican doesn't appreciate. See this clip from the movie Baraka, I think the sacred tree ritual is inspired by the Balinese Kecak ritual:



Yes, there is more than one way to critique Avatar: a Rousseauian depiction of indigenous society, a white man-goes-native story, white male as rescuer story, etc. I still think James Cameron has made a great film. His genius is using the spectacular visuals to tell a story that will sell at the blockbuster, a love story of course, but one that is also deeply thought provoking and pertinent to the capitalistic world we live in. The destruction of sacred ancestral lands of indigenous people for natural resources happens all the time today. Based on this realist premise, Avatar also raises fundamental moral and philosophical questions facing humanity and science. How alienated are postmodern humans from nature and spirituality? Can scientific technology ever grok the interconnectedness of nature? Towards what ends are the best of scientific knowledge and technology used? Why do wars happen in today's world? Who and what suffers in war?

Some critics don't like the story's resemblance to the American invasion of Iraq, especially the colonel saying that they will "shock and awe" the Na'vi people by bombing them into submission. That was not very subtle, all right, but that is precisely what makes it good. Don't tell me you are too intelligent and you want some subtlety. Certain things are best told directly. Isn't it great that an American film (although the director is a Canadian) can be so openly critical of its government's imperialistic policies and actions? Can you imagine a mainland Chinese film criticizing China's invasion of Tibet?

Speaking of China and Tibet. It is interesting to read about Chinese reactions to the movie. Chinese viewers sympathize with the Na'vi people because the destruction of the Na'vi Treehome reminds them of local Chinese government using violence to forcefully evict residents from their homes for redevelopment, such as construction of Olympic stadiums or dams. As an analyst of Tibetan environment and development issues, I cannot help but compare the Na'vi's to the plight of Tibetan nomads and farmers. It is almost like the story is inspired by the Khampa farmers who fought against a Chinese mining company and armed security forces to save their sacred mountain, Ser Ngul Lo, from being mined for gold.

Read more on this article...

Ready to die defending sacred mountain

"Hundreds of Tibetans are facing off against armed security forces at Ser Ngol Lo, site of a planned gold mine in Tsangshul sub-district (Lhara Village, Markham County, Chamdo Prefecture) which natives consider a sacred mountain." Read more here: here.

Read the original news source from Radio Free Asia. Read more on this article...

Himalaya, the "Mountains of Concrete": a review

Mountains of Concrete: Dam Building in the Himalayas. International Rivers. 2008.  

Mountains of Concrete by Shripad Dharmadhikary is a fine new report that looks at dam building trends in the Himalayan regions of Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first critical report of its scope and focus, definitely an important contribution to the debates over dam building issues in the region. However, the exclusion of Tibetan Himalayan rivers renders this otherwise comprehensive regional study still incomplete, especially since the Tibetan sections of these rivers are the critical headwaters. The report explains that the omission is due to lack of information and resources. This is personally very disappointing as I believe the information and resources are out there, if only the author and the publisher had dug more deeply to find them.

The report, however, does dedicate a full-page story (Box #4, page 20): “China ‘Goes Out’ to Build Himalayan Dams.” It provides a brief overview of Chinese dam-building expertise and the politico-economic context under which it is ‘going out’ to build “hundreds of dams” in South Asia, Africa, South America, Central Asia and other regions of the world. In South Asia, the report says that “Chinese companies have built or are building at least 13 projects in Nepal and nine in Pakistan.” There is a quick mention of Chinese plans to build a dam on Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra), an idea that is alarming to the downstream countries of India and Bangladesh. Since Tibet is the headwaters to many of the major rivers discussed in the report and there are innumerable dams built and planned on the Tibetan Plateau, we can only hope that International Rivers will take up this incomplete project and produce a sequel report about Chinese dam projects in Tibet. Readers interested in getting a glimpse of Chinese dam-building trends on the Tibetan Plateau are encouraged to read this paper.

That said, I want to share some of the many excellent points that are discussed in the report and point out certain important topics that could have been been included. This 48-page report is neatly divided into different topical sections. The first half of the report presents an informative country-by-country discussion of dam-building trends, funding issues and the key players. I found the discussions about Nepal and Bhutan most informative since not much is known about dam issues in these two countries. I did not realize until today, and it is not very surprising as one comes to think of it, that hydropower development represents the biggest source of income for Nepal and Bhutan. According to the report, about half of Bhutan’s national income comes from hydropower development. Bhutan has an installed capacity of 1,448 MW and plans to increase it to 15,693 MW. Nepal is more ambitious, it plans to install a total capacity of 26,324 MW from its current installed capacity of 545 MW. India’s goal is 93,615 MW from 15,208 MW. And for Pakistan, it is 33,769 MW from the existing capacity of 6,385 MW.

The drivers of hydropower in Pakistan and India are different. Pakistan wants big dams for irrigation and agriculture. In India, there is much higher demand for electricity and regional development. Needless to mention, the Indian power companies' rush to earn huge profits is also a major factor. A look at sources of funds is also interesting. The involvement of international financial institutions (IFI) such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are common throughout the region. For Bhutan, the main source of funds is India. Nepal has a more diverse source of income, including domestic sources, private-public partnerships, India as well as China. China is also an important funder for Pakistan. Other sources of funds for Pakistan include internal government sources, foreign private banks and income from sale of power. India’s main funders are its government, domestic banks and financial institutions.

Funding is the biggest challenge to the developers in this mostly rural region. Even if all the available funds are added up, the report estimates that 40% of the funds still remain unsecured. Power sector reforms to raise necessary funds are essentially geared towards privatization. The availability of funding is largely dependent on the ability of the power sector to recover investments, which to me is doubtful because of factors such as climate change, poor performance track record of big dams in general, and the South Asian context of corruption and unstable local/regional politics. However, I imagine the greatest funding problem right now is the global economic crisis as energy demands and investments in many parts of the world are declining. 

The main argument of the first section is the lack of morality in the economics of big dams in the region. Who are the ultimate winners and who are the losers? While the report does not question the role of state in hydropower development in the tradition of political ecology or post-structuralist critics, it raises issues of equity and the plight of the poor and affected people. The prospective winners are the banks and bureaucracies whose interests are directly proportional to the size of investment and prospective profits. The losers are the affected people, many of which are the many unique indigenous peoples (Adivasis, jan jatis), and the environment. In fact, the report is ultimately a warning that the Himalayas themselves and the whole region would face grave consequences if its people and decision-makers fail to act as its custodians.

The second half of the Concrete Mountains report is dedicated to the social and environmental issues. There are a lot of topics covered in this section (downstream impacts, loss of resource base, direct submergence, cultural impacts, ecological impacts, seismicity and sedimentation, climate change, etc.) that could have benefited from focus in terms of a specific target audience that ideally is also relevant to the debate. This section also provides a brief discussion on the response from affected people. I have always been most impressed with the various anti-dam movements in India. The national policy debates raised by the Narmada Bachao Andolan, and the mobilization of affected people’s resistance not only on the Narmada campaign but also other projects such as Teesta in the Northeast are inspiring examples for other dam-affected people. [TEAM has translated the Citizens’ Guide to World Commission on Dams, an activist organizational tool kit for people affected by dams, into Tibetan. We have sent a few copies to Teesta activists and are happy to send more copies for free to anyone who places an order.]

I am pleased that the report rightly situates the debate within the context of climate change. I believe climate change provides an important, pertinent and powerful critique of dam development in the region. If the glaciers and snows that feed the Himalayas are disappearing, why build such large, expensive and inhumane concrete structures? Some experts argue that big dams will be useful for storage purposes if climate change results in changes to water flow patterns. We can use the dams to store water when there is excess and release when supply is scarce. This report rejects this argument. Current dam projects, including those in the ‘pipeline,’ will not be able to deliver the designed benefits since flows are expected to decline significantly in the long run. Big dams in the Himalayas also increase other risks that are more common to the region such as glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) and seismicity.

Another important point that I was delightfully surprised to see emphasized in this report is the issue of cumulative impact of these dams. What will be the long term added incremental impact of all these dams to the region’s environment and economy? No one has the answer to this question. Perhaps we will never know the answer to this question beforehand but this is an important conceptual question for people and policy makers concerned about the future of the region’s cultural and ecological heritage. A step in the right direction toward understanding cumulative impact is to include cumulative impact assessments in project environmental impact assessment measures.

While such important points are raised in the report, there is no discussion of certain other relevant and important concepts such as minimum in-stream flows, ecosystem services (of headwaters and free flowing river, for example), and human rights impact assessment. I think all of these concepts should be made relevant to any discussion of dam project planning to minimize environmental and social costs. It would have been very fitting for the report to include these concepts as a part of its recommendations to governments and funders, a section that is also missing in the report. I would have either expanded the final one-page discussion on “Alternative Approaches” or included a set of recommendations for different target audiences, such as governments, IFIs, affected local people groups such as the Affected Citizens of Teesta.

It is unfair to expect a report to cover all relevant topics under the sun. For what it has set out to do, I think the report has achieved its purpose barring the unfortunate exclusion of Tibet and China. I wish to congratulate Shripad Sharmadhikary and the International Rivers for releasing this informative critical report.

Read more on this article...

Tibetan perspectives on the significance of mountains and lakes

[Photo: Tashi Tsering]

By Tenzin Choezin, Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center, New York
Translated by Tenzin Bhuchung, UC Berkeley Rotary Peace Scholar
Original source: Trin-Gyi-Pho-Nya [སྤྲིན་གྱི་ཕོ་ཉ་], Tibet Justice Center, Vol. 1, Issue 3, January 2004.

Tibetans’ traditions and their way of life are intimately linked to the landscape: its spectacular high mountains and pristine lakes. The significance of landscape finds meaning and expression both in pre-Buddhist Bon tradition as well as in Tibetan Buddhist culture.

According to the indigenous Bon tradition, Tibetans believe that mountains, lakes, ponds, springs and river sources are dwelling places of the protector gods of Tibet and most of these sites are named, often in a modified version, after the name of a particular deity believed to be dwelling there. Furthermore, all mountains and lakes have at least one amazing legend surrounding them. The sky-touching mountains are believed to be stairways to heaven (ལྷ་ཡུལ་/Lha-yul) and the crystal clear lakes as gateways to the underworld realm of the Nagas (ཀླུ་ཡུལ་/Lu-yul).

From a Tibetan Buddhist interpretation, mountains like the Jomolangma (ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ་/Everest), Ghung-gyal, Amnye Machen and many other high mountains of Tibet are regarded as abodes of the gods and the twelve female guardian deities that were believed to be present at the formation of the Tibetan landscape and civilization. Mountains such as Ghang Rinpoche (གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་/Mount Kailash), Mount Tsari Tsagong (ཙ་རི་) and Mount Khawa Karpo (ཁ་བ་དཀར་པོ་) are regarded as heavenly dwelling places of various trans-worldly deities.

Even lakes such as Mapham Yutso (མ་ཕམ་གཡུ་མཚོ་/Lake Manasarovar), Namtso Chukmo (གནམ་མཚོ་ཕྱུག་མོ་), Yamdrok Yutso (ཡར་འབྲོག་གཡུ་མཚོ་/Turquoise Lake), Trishor Gyalmo (མཚོ་སྔོན་ཁྲི་ཤོར་རྒྱལ་མོ་/Kokonor Lake) and others are widely revered as abodes various female deities such as Dorji Phagmo (རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ་/Vajra Yogini). There are also lakes that Tibetans believe reveal prophetic visions in them such as Lhamo Lhatso (ལྷ་མོ་བླ་མཚོ་), Thod-lung Tsehu (སྟོད་ལུང་མཚོའུ་), O’lkha Tsehu (འོལ་ཀ་མཚོའུ་), and Tsari Yutso (ཙ་རི་གཡུ་མཚོ་). These lakes are revered as miraculous sources of protection and are believed to have helped in identifying the next incarnation of Lamas (བླ་མ་/spiritual teachers) including the current Dalai Lama.



Three lakes in eastern Tibet—Kyaring (སྐྱ་རིང་), Ngoring (སྔོ་རིང་) and Doring (དོ་རིང་) —are surrounded by high mountain ranges with one mountain rising distinctively higher. Tibetans regard this area as the dwelling place (བླ་གནས་) of King Ling Gesar (གླིང་གེ་སར་རྒྱལ་པོ་), and have named the highest mountain after the legendary King. It is a common practice for local Tibetans to offer prayers in these sacred sites. There are also numerous natural fountains and hot springs that Tibetans believe are blessed by the Medicine. Tibetans believe that when they drink or bathe in them, many chronic diseases can be cured. Then there are lakes such as Nagphak Tso and O’tso that serve as winter migration places for rare and endangered species of birds like the black-necked crane (ཁྲུང་ཁྲུང་སྐེ་ནག་).

In particular, Ghang Rinpoche (གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་/Mount Kailash) and the River Ganga (ཆུ་མོ་གངྒ་) are sacred places of worship not only for Tibetans but also for many in India and Nepal. Many of Tibet’s high Lamas (Dharma teachers) have built monasteries and meditation houses near these sacred sites, while others have spent their lives there in solitary contemplation. Thus these places are considered doubly blessed. Animals dwelling in these sacred places are regarded as divine manifestations. Respect for the lives of these animals is such that not even a small plant is cut, let alone the animals killed. Instead, Tibetans customarily pile white pebbles into a heap in such places to symbolize the enhancement of their pure motivations. Instead of fishing, Tibetans throw precious objects into the lakes as offerings to the deities believed to be residing in them.

Even today, the Tibetan people deeply believe in the world of gods (ལྷ་)and demons (འདྲེ་). In all their worldly activities, they evoke gods and spirits for their accomplishment. Such traditional practices and belief systems associated with local ecosystems are an inseparable part of Tibetan culture and way of life.
Read more on this article...