Close your eyes and picture a mine as you remember it.

Clouds of dust, scarred hillsides, and machinery roaring so loudly that your ears hurt?

Standing beside the tailings storage facility at Luming Mining, I closed my eyes, opened them again, and could hardly believe what I was seeing!

Is this really a mining area?

Without a doubt, Asia’s largest single‑deposit molybdenum mine, processing 15 million tons of ore annually, is quietly nestled amid an endless expanse of greenery.

Wait a minute—why are there roe deer here?

Two wild roe deer were leisurely strolling through the seepage‑control dam area of the tailings storage facility.

In July 2026, Luming Mining earned the title of “National Green Mine” with the highest ranking in Heilongjiang Province, also achieving Yichun City’s first‑ever breakthrough in securing national‑level green mine status.

Clearly, roe deer do not appear in a mining area for no reason.

The tailings dam in summer.

It took Luming Mining more than a decade to turn the mining area into a backyard where wild roe deer love to roam.

Mining while planting trees!

Some may say, who doesn’t know how to plant trees?

But planting trees on permafrost in a frigid climate is by no means something everyone can do.

In the Greater Khingan Mountains, winter can freeze the soil several meters deep. Saplings planted in spring can emerge from the winter frozen solid, roots and all.

Luming Mining has deployed a comprehensive set of measures—including netting and hydroseeding, soil‑cover improvement, and the planting of native species—to reclaim 144 hectares of land in an area where “planting anything is a struggle.”

What does that mean? About 200 standard football fields.

The tailings storage facility in autumn.

Today, standing beside the tailings storage facility, it is almost impossible to distinguish the slopes covered with grass and shrubs from the pristine forest stretching into the distance.

The concentration of negative oxygen ions? Between 4,000 and 6,000 per cubic centimeter, with summer peaks exceeding 10,000.

The wildlife knows this is a good place.

The roe deer came and stroll through the seepage‑control dam area.

Mallards and black‑winged stilts have also made their homes along the Yijimi River.

With their feet, they have cast a vote of confidence in the Luming mining area.

Eurasian coots forage in the lotus pond waters of the tailings storage facility.

The mine looks good on the outside, but its real strength lies beneath the surface.

What are the biggest concerns at a mining site? Dirty water, mountains of tailings, and energy consumption that refuses to come down.

How has Luming Mining tackled these challenges?

Not a single drop of water is discharged outside the site.

Process water from mineral processing undergoes multi‑stage sedimentation and purification and is fully reused. Domestic wastewater is treated to the required standards and then used to irrigate vegetation on slopes.

Zero discharge on both fronts: zero discharge of industrial wastewater and zero discharge of domestic wastewater.

The Yijimi River is right beside the site, but not a single drop of wastewater is allowed to enter it.

Don’t believe it? Just look at the mallards~

At the seepage‑control dam, wild ducks swim freely in the water.

And the ore? Not a bit of it goes to waste.

Advanced flotation technology efficiently recovers associated metals such as molybdenum and copper. The recovery rate reaches 98.85%, while the mining loss rate and dilution rate are far below the national average.

Even the tailings are put to use. Working with universities, Luming Mining has developed products such as glass‑ceramic panels and soil conditioners from solid waste. Every usable resource is put to use.

The workshops are spotless.

Not a single kilowatt‑hour of electricity is wasted.

High‑energy‑consuming motors have been phased out, variable‑frequency technology has been widely adopted, LEDs cover the entire site, and solar‑powered streetlights have been installed throughout the plant area.

In 2025, carbon dioxide emissions per RMB 10,000 of output value fell by another 3.31% year on year.

Every kilowatt‑hour of electricity is put to the best possible use.

An autumn view of the streets at Luming Mining.

At this stage of building a green mine, success is measured not only by how many trees are planted, but also by whether there are “ecological sentinels.”

Luming Mining has established 53 environmental monitoring sites, with 1,017 indicators uploaded in real time.

Abnormal dust levels? Automatic alerts. Fluctuations in water quality? Automatic alerts.

Luming Mining also took the lead in developing a local group standard for biodiversity conservation and monitoring in cold‑region mining areas, formalizing a comprehensive set of methods for revegetating permafrost areas, ecological restoration of tailings storage facilities, and wildlife monitoring. Other metal mines in Northeast China seeking a green transition can directly “copy the playbook.”

The mine’s digitalization efforts have also received recognition at the national level: it has been recognized as a 5G Fully Connected Factory by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and selected as a pilot project for implementing the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Specifications for Smart Mine Development.

Technology stands guard over these green mountains and clear waters around the clock.

Luming Mining’s digital twin application platform.

Some may ask: With all these measures, how is the core business actually doing?

15 million tons of ore processed annually.

Asia’s largest single‑deposit molybdenum mine.

Stable production!

It is neither “produce first, manage the environment later” nor “produce while managing the environment.”

Instead, green development has been built into the process from the very beginning.

After more than a decade, Luming Mining has made a fundamental transition:

From “ecological constraints” to “ecological consciousness.”

It tells us that

mining development and lucid waters and lush mountains have never been mutually exclusive.

Even Asia’s largest single‑deposit molybdenum mine can become a backyard where roe deer love to roam.