Mining and the Brahmaputra

Beginning in 1999, the Chinese Government conducted a secret 7 year survey of the Tibetan plateau in search of mineral deposits. With an investment of $44 million, the survey led to the discovery of many deposit sites including a seam of copper and gold deposits along the Yarlung Tsangpo (the Brahmaputra in India) gorge.

The Chinese government set about facilitating contracts for extracting deposits from this site (Shethongmon mine). A property option agreement was signed between China NetTV Holdings and a Canadian Company, Continental Minerals.

DIRECT CONSEQUENCES

The primary process of copper and gold mining requires large quantities of water of which the obvious source would be the Yarlung Tsangpo.

The ore is found in conjunction with arsenic laden pyrite. After grinding, the rock is washed with acid that helps separate the ore from the rock. The remnant of this process is a highly acidic mixture consisting of arsenic and cyanide. At times, the process of ore separation is not completely successful with portions of the ore being left behind. This will cause copper contamination when it reaches the groundwater.

INDIRECT CONSEQUENCES

Siltation –An excess of siltation leads to flooding, a problem already existing in areas along the Brahmaputra. In this project, siltation will happen in the following two ways: first, 300 million tonnes of rock have to be first removed, before reaching the 182 million tonnes of ore, and second, in order to carry out mining, intense deforestation is required to get to the rock containing ore.

Melting of glaciers (Deglaciation) – The Brahmaputra is only one of the two rivers that are perennial because of their origin in glaciers. Intense mining activities indirectly lead to environmental changes that speed up the melting of glaciers immensely. As the glaciers retreat, the volume of water in the rivers will increase at first causing widespread flooding. They will then go in to a rapid decline reducing the volume and flow of the rivers, making them merely seasonal. According to a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) climate report, at the current rate of temperature rise the Himalayan glaciers could completely disappear by 2035.

Any industrial mining activity involves the usage of machinery over a long period, and thus the use of fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are a major source of greenhouse gases.

The second largest contributor to global warming, Black Carbon has already caused a 7% increase in glacial retreat a year. Black Carbon emissions originate from coal powered stations and diesel engines. A railway line has been built through the Shethongmon mine to carry the ore from the mine site to the smelter. An estimate has been made that approximately 210,000 tonnes of ore will be transported to the smelter. With a single train being able to carry a maximum of 5,000 tonnes at once, this will mean 42 trains a year or one train a week will be required to carry the ore. Once functional, the fuel will lead to the emission of large amounts of black carbon and thus glacial melting.

Other environmental changes – The Tibetan plateau serves as an "airshed" for the Asian continent. The northern jetstreams flowing over the Plateau determine the timing and force of the seasonal South Asian monsoons in India. Deforestation on the Plateau will delay and weaken the summer monsoon, endangering the livelihood of millions of farmers who depend on these rains. 

(with inputs from Reecha Das and Ananya Ramani, SFT India interns)