Published by: World Tibet Network News Thursday - October 9, 1997

Zhongguo Xinwen She news agency, Beijing, in English 8 Oct 97

Lhasa, 8th October: Joint asset restructuring is to be carried out by the Lhasa Mining Industry Company in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and the Hebang Power Group in Sichuan Province, in preparation for their co-operative exploitation of non-ferrous metals in Tibet. It is expected that an annual 300m RMB in output value will be achieved by the year 2000.

The mining company, a state enterprise under the leadership of the Lhasa Economic and Trade Commission with an annual output value in excess of 10m RMB, specializes in the exploitation of non-ferrous metal resources. The economically and technologically strong Sichuan power company is a business group operated by several enterprises and has wide trade interests in several regions.

According to the reorganization scheme, the Sichuan company would fund the surveying, design and construction of a power transmission line in the mining area run by the Lhasa mining company. The project, involving a 24-km, 34 kilovolt capacity line, would be completed in eight months. However, another seven months would then be required to extend an ore dressing plant to enable the Lhasa company to enjoy an annual output value of 205m RMB worth of non-ferrous metals, up from the present 10.4m RMB.

The second phase of the reorganization would include the completion in one year of a power station and a smelting plant to help the mining company to achieve an annual output value of 300m RMB by the year 2000. By then, taxes on profits would exceed 100m RMB, and the company would therefore be one of the largest mining groups in Tibet.