Asia Times-by Dhondup Wangmo
Before the invasion of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), mining was rarely conducted in that region. Within the Tibetan cultural sphere, mining and ground disturbance are often said to remove “the bcud [nutrition or essence] of the earth, of which minerals are [a] primary form.”
During the Cultural Revolutions, Tibetan people were sent to Jang Tsala Karpo, a borax mine in the high-altitude Jangtang region of northern Tibet (Nagchu). Some mining for chromium was also done using Tibetan prisoners, many of whom were worked or starved to death. In short, after the invasion, China’s mining continued throughout Tibet.
Gabriel Lafitte, one of the foremost environmentalists and researchers on mining in Tibet, has divided China’s exploitation of Tibetan natural resources into four periods. Click here to read more.