Securities Regulator Probes Zijin's Acid Wastewater Leak

(Beijing) - China's securities regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), opened an investigation on July 19 into Zijin Mining's notification to the public of the wastewater leak, according to an announcement from Zijin Mining the same day. The total economic losses related to the leakage incidents from the Zijinshan Copper Mine smelting plant will be released after the investigation.

Wastewater from a Zijinshan Copper Mine smelting plant leaked copper acid into the nearby Ting River in Shanghang county of Fujian Province on July 3, resulting in the poisoning of 1,890 tons of fish and massive economic losses for local fishermen. On July 16, another huge leak occurred at the same Zijinshan Copper Mine smelting plant. Five hundred cubic meters of wastewater leaked into the Ting River.

On July 18, Zijin Mining Group held a board meeting and passed a resolution on strengthening environmental safety work and a letter of apology to the public. 

Zijin Mining delayed public disclosure of the incident until July 13, which brought widespread criticism. The company announced that about 9,100 cubic meters of wastewater containing copper acid flowed into the Ting River. On July 12, Zijin Mining suspended the trading of its A-shares and H-shares on July 12. 

Three executives from the Zijinshan Copper Mine smelting plant were detained by the Shanghang County Public Security Bureau on criminal charges. Chen Junan, head of the Shanghang County Environmental Protection Bureau, resigned days after the accident was announced.

Zijin Mining Group is the largest gold producer and second largest copper producer in China, ranking in the world's top 500 companies. The company has been repeatedly involved in environmental accidents. 

The Ministry of Environmental Protection cited 11 listed companies with severe environmental problems this May. Zijin Mining ranked top on the list.