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Restoring 5,500 Abandoned Mines! Hunan Explores a Path for Abandoned Mine Remediation with Hunan-Huxiang Characteristics—Heijinggang Broadcast
In the valleys of Mao'er Township, Huayuan County, Hunan Province, during winter, contiguous mulberry fields stretch along the contours of the hillsides. Villagers, carrying bamboo baskets, shuttle back and forth among the trees, creating a scene of bustling activity.
“Previously, this was a mine, and whenever there was a strong wind, dust would fly everywhere. Now, villagers are planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms on the hills—not only has the mine been reclaimed and greened, but everyone’s pockets have also gotten fuller,” said Shi Qunhui, a local farmer, happily.
In recent years, Hunan Province, guided by the concept that “mountains, rivers, forests, farmland, lakes, and grasslands constitute a community of life,” has pioneered a path for the restoration of abandoned mines that is uniquely characteristic of the Huxiang region. As a result, the former “ecological scars” are gradually being transformed into “golden mountains and silver hills” driving green development.
Get a clear picture of your assets. Full-process supervision of systematic governance
“Before, this place was covered with mine pits everywhere. Whenever the wind blew, it was filled with dust—and there was always an inexplicable smell of dirt,” said a villager from Heitanfu Village, Zhushan Town, Lingling District, Yongzhou City, gazing at the lush, verdant mountains and forests before him. Who would have thought that today’s picturesque landscape—where everything is green from top to bottom, birds sing sweetly, and flowers bloom fragrantly—was once a manganese mining area, a key focus of comprehensive mine remediation efforts?
For a long time, the remediation of historically abandoned mines in Hunan Province has been plagued by unclear inventories, ambiguous responsibilities, and fragmented funding. “In 2021, Hunan Province launched a province-wide verification effort to identify historically abandoned mines,” said the head of the Ecological Restoration Division of the Hunan Provincial Department of Natural Resources. “According to the assessment conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources, there are 7,216 historically abandoned mines yet to be remediated, covering an area of 10,917 hectares. This precise mapping provides us with a clear roadmap for advancing the comprehensive management of these mines.”
After gaining a clear understanding of the existing situation, Hunan Province swiftly established a governance system featuring institutional norms, technical standards, and a closed-loop accountability framework, leveraging institutional empowerment to ensure the efficient operation of historical mine-rehabilitation efforts throughout their entire lifecycle. More than 30 documents governing the implementation of mine-ecological restoration projects have been issued, covering aspects such as project planning, process supervision, fund utilization, and performance management, thereby providing institutional safeguards for standardized project management and compliant use of funds. Additionally, four local technical standard documents have been formulated, offering practical references for the development of national standards and specifications. Furthermore, the local regulation on mine-ecological restoration in Huayuan County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, has been promulgated, providing a solid legal foundation for carrying out ecological restoration in accordance with the law.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Hunan has secured over 1.2 billion yuan in central government funding cumulatively, leveraging major projects to drive breakthroughs across the entire region. Hunan has also stepped up its investment of local funds and organized provincial-level ecological restoration projects for historically abandoned mines, attracting social capital to participate in market-oriented restoration efforts. Through coordinated and concerted efforts, the province, cities, and counties have established a funding guarantee system that is vertically integrated and collaboratively advanced.
To ensure project quality, Hunan has flexibly employed management approaches featuring “platform collaboration + functional upgrades” and “full lifecycle + full-chain management.” Relying on ministerial- and provincial-level platforms, all identified historical legacy mine patches have been incorporated into the system, enabling comprehensive oversight of the entire process—from planning and design to construction and acceptance.
Empowered by technology, reforestation and rejuvenation have given rise to the “Hunan Model.”
By adopting the “Vine Cube” planting technology and exploring new approaches to waste-to-resource management, mines in Hunan have gradually been restored to greenery in recent years, thanks to the empowerment of science and technology.
In Guipo, Tiaoma Town, Changsha City, a once-abandoned quarry has been transformed and now boasts lush greenery. Previously, the quarry had left behind a steep 70-meter-high rock slope that resembled a heart shape. To restore this area, the local government employed a thick-layer substrate spraying technique to rapidly re-green the site, using herbaceous plants as pioneer species. Complementing these plants with climbing vines—whose soil-stabilizing and slope-protecting functions help reinforce the slope—this approach has created a plant community that is both visually rich and capable of sustainable ecological succession. As a result, the natural ecosystem of the slope has been effectively restored, significantly enhancing its proactive protective capacity. This innovative method has successfully addressed the challenge of greening steep rocky slopes—even those facing upward—and provides a valuable model and reference for ecological restoration efforts targeting steep slopes and otherwise difficult-to-use, ungreened lands surrounding urban areas.
Yongzhou City is actively exploring a new approach to waste management—using waste to treat waste. In collaboration with Hunan Zijin Lithium Industry, the city is intensifying research into key technologies for the utilization of tailings. Through coordinated efforts between government and enterprises, a comprehensive governance chain has been established, linking "mining tailings—remediation materials—land regeneration." As a result, 18,000 tons of mining tailings have been successfully used as a substitute for soil, combined with stress-resistant plants to create a three-dimensional ecological system featuring trees, shrubs, and grasses, thereby turning waste into valuable resources. These technological achievements have been extended to 12 similar mining areas, cumulatively saving over 15 million yuan in remediation costs.
Ecological restoration of coal-mine waste dumps in Xiuli Village, Fangyuan Town, Guiyang County—taking into account the characteristics of extreme rainfall at 57.7 mm/hour and seasonal drought—fully leverages the original topography and landforms. Based on simulated capacity for periods of extreme, continuous rainfall, we have designed a retention pond covering 0.6 hectares with a maximum water depth of 4 meters. Along the pond’s edge, we’ve planted flood-tolerant species such as weeping willows and metasequoia; on the hilltops, we’ve planted drought-resistant and nutrient-poor-tolerant species like cypress and Chinese date. Moreover, we’ve designed more than 20% of the water surface to have depths exceeding two meters, ensuring sufficient water supply for vegetation maintenance during extreme drought periods as well as for agricultural irrigation, thereby establishing a dual-defense system against both drought and flooding.
Located in Pingtang Subdistrict, Xiangjiang New Area, Hunan Province, the site was formerly the old Pingtang Industrial Base. Rather than resorting to conventional landfill methods, the local authorities have developed a world-leading engineering system for ecological restoration and reuse of massive mine pits. Pioneeringly, they’ve built two major theme parks—Happy Snowland and Happy Water Village—suspended above the deep pit. After seven years of painstaking effort, this abandoned industrial site has been transformed into a vibrant, experience-based, dual-oriented theme park.
Integrate and develop, continuously unleashing ecological benefits.
Hunan Province is promoting the deep integration of mine ecological restoration with rural revitalization and the fusion of culture, tourism, and heritage, thereby exploring a series of diversified “Restoration+” development models. Today, the ecological benefits resulting from the comprehensive management of historically abandoned mines in Hunan are continuously being realized.
Huayuan County has completed a comprehensive utilization production line capable of processing 3.3 million tons of tailings annually, with an annual output value reaching 439 million yuan. Following the development approach of “Ecological Restoration Plus,” the local government has leveraged the industrial realignment under the “East Mulberry, West Silk” initiative to cultivate mulberry and silkworm farming on 8,000 mu of land, generating an annual output value of over 4 million yuan. As one of the former core areas of the “Manganese Triangle,” Huayuan County is vigorously implementing the “851 Project”—an initiative focused on eight distinctive agricultural industries spanning 500,000 mu and generating an output value of 10 billion yuan—continuously enhancing the “green content” of its economic development.
The former site of the brick and tile factory in the Second Sub-farm of Xingfu Village, Xizhou Township, Changde City, has been revitalized through an ecological restoration project for mining areas. As a result, nearly 200 acres of previously abandoned land have been put back into productive use, and 80.86 acres of high-standard farmland are beginning to take shape. This not only strengthens the foundation of food security but also improves ecological quality and living conditions.
The site of Changsha Xiangjiang Happy City has undergone a remarkable transformation—from a massive mine pit to a popular check-in spot beloved by internet users. The local government has adopted an “ecological restoration + urban renewal” model, building the Happy Snow World and Happy Water Park theme parks atop the deep pit. To date, the parks have welcomed over 15 million visitors, generating annual revenues of 3 billion yuan.
According to preliminary statistics, as of June this year, Hunan has cumulatively invested over 2.5 billion yuan during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, completing the restoration of 5,500 mines covering an area of 8,230 hectares. Among these restored areas, 4,590 hectares have been converted into forest land, 1,170 hectares into grassland, and 660 hectares into orchard land. More than 550 geological safety hazards have been eliminated, significantly improving the ecological environment of mining sites and their surrounding areas.
From Huayuan in Xiangxi to the provincial capital, Changsha, and from the banks of the Xiangjiang River to the Wuling Mountain area, Hunan Province’s mine-rehabilitation efforts are writing a new chapter in ecological civilization construction. Moving forward, Hunan will continue to combine dynamic monitoring with stringent regulation, strengthen full-cycle management and post-completion maintenance and monitoring, and ensure that its demonstration projects truly play a leading and exemplary role in terms of technological application, model innovation, and enhanced effectiveness, thus providing a Hunan model for ecological protection along the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
