Following an incident on May 14, six employees at the Julong Copper and Polymetallic Mine in Maldrogungkar (Chinese: Mozhugongka) County of Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, have been reported missing. Although it is known that Chinese employees from mainland China are employed in mines in occupied Tibet, nothing has been said regarding the ethnicity of the missing miners.
According to Reuters, China’s Zijin Mining Group Co. said on May 15 that it had halted operations at the mine while searching for the six people who had vanished. According to reports, the missing miners were employed by a subcontractor.
In a statement to the Hong Kong stock market, Zijin said that contact with the six employees was lost after a lift cage dropped during the building of shafts in the drainage system of the Julong Copper and Polymetallic Mine. The mine also added that production had been interrupted.
According to the research, Julong Copper produced 115,000 tonnes of the metal in 2022 with plans to produce 152,000 tonnes in 2023. The metal is utilized in construction and the power industry.
Tibet Julong Copper Co., which runs the mine, is 50.1% owned by Zijin Mining. The Qulong Copper and Polymetallic Mine, the Rongmucuola Copper Mine, and the Zhibula Copper and Polymetallic Mine are all under the control of Tibet Julong Copper.
The International Copper Study Group (ICSG), which was cited in the paper, predicted a shortfall of around 114,000 tonnes on the global copper market this year.
