China Business Journal said that the Zijin Mining Group had been warned by inspectors from the Ministry of Environmental Protection for its breach of environmental regulations as early as last November.

On May 14, a circular issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection criticized 11 listed companies for their environmental violations, including Zijin Mining Group, which was cited for seven violations and required to hand over a remedy plan before June 25.

Fish farms in the lower reaches of the Tingjiang River reported abnormal deaths of fish to local government as early as June 23. The local government's investigation confirmed that the deaths were caused by sewage with higher-than-normal copper levels that flowed from a local mine of the Zijin Mining Group.

However, in an interview with China Business Journal on July 15, Luo Yingnan, President of Zijin Mining Group, denied the fish deaths on June 23 were related to his company. Explaining the delayed disclosure of the incident for nine days, Luo also told China National Radio his company had mistakenly underestimated the seriousness of the accident until it was too late. A spokeswoman for the Zijin Mining Group said earlier that withholding the information was to avoid creating a panic among residents.

The lack of a thorough investigation of the June 23 incident has fueled suspicion that the local government tried to cover up for the company, whose taxes account for about 60 percent of the local government's annual revenue. The local government is also the company's biggest shareholder.

On July 18, Chen Jinghe, Chairman of Zijin Mining Group, said the relationship between his company and the local government is as clear as in any state-controlled company. "The local government is Zijin's largest shareholder while the company's board of directors independently acts on market demands," he said.

On July 22, the Ministry of Environ-mental Protection sent its second team of inspectors to the copper smelter to monitor the disposal of the remaining 200,000 cubic meters of sewage. "The top priority is to properly dispose of the remaining waste to avoid a third leak," Chen Shanrong, an official with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, told China National Radio. n

Timeline

Between July 3 and 4, around 9,100 cubic meters of wastewater spewed from the blown-out sewage tank and flowed through an "illegally built passage" into the Tingjiang River.

On July 12, Zijin Mining Group presented files to the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, admitting the earlier spill of wastewater.

On July 13, Zijin Mining Group announced suspension of production at the copper plant where the leakage took place until a makeover of the plant passes testing by environmental authorities.

On July 14, local environmental authorities said the water in the Tingjiang River has steadily met national groundwater quality standards since July 11; the Fujian branch of the China Securities Regulatory Commission decided to launch an investigation into a possible breach of disclosure rules related to the spill at the copper smelter.

On July 15, a press conference held by the Public Security Bureau of Shanghang County announced that three managers of the plant had been detained by the county's public security bureau. The head of the county's environmental protection bureau was forced to step down.

On July 16, the head of Shanghang County was suspended from his post; the deputy head of the county and director of Longyan City's environmental protection bureau were fired.

Between 10:30 p.m. July 16 and 7 a.m. July 17, a new leak occurred and 500 cubic meters of plant waste was discharged into the Tingjiang River.

On July 20, Zijin Mining Group issued an open apology, calling the leaks the worst environmental accident.

(Source: edited from Xinhua News Agency and China National Radio)