A rare gold mine has been discovered in the Kunlun Mountains near the border of China’s western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Preliminary estimates suggest that the mine could contain more than 1,000 tons of gold.
Senior engineer He Fubao and his colleagues from the Kashgar geological team recently reported this finding in a peer-reviewed journal, ‘Acta Geoscientica Sinica’.
They noted that the gold belt in the Kunlun Mountains marks China’s third 1,000-ton-scale gold belt. Earlier this year, two similar discoveries were reported.
If confirmed, maximum extraction from this mine could provide China with significant strategic advantages in its gold industry and mineral security. However, the mountainous and remote location makes exploration and mining technically challenging, and extraction may have environmental consequences.
Source: South China Morning Post
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