The National Mine Safety Administration Sichuan Bureau issued a statement on October 26 detailing how, in order to draw profound lessons from fatal illegal mining incidents nationwide and to strictly implement the requirements of the Work Safety Committee Office of the State Council concerning the thorough investigation, sealing and remediation of abandoned mine shafts and the severe crackdown on illegal mining activities, a meeting was held on October 23.
The Sichuan Bureau, together with the Ganzi Prefecture Emergency Management Bureau, Natural Resources and Planning Bureau, Public Security Bureau, and Ecology and Environment Bureau, formally summoned the Kangding Municipal People's Government regarding an illegal mining incident near Taogou in Kongyu Township, Kangding City.
On October 14 of this year, the Sichuan Bureau received a public report that multiple individuals were illegally mining gold near Taogou in Kongyu Township, Kangding City. The bureau placed great importance on the reported leads and immediately arranged for the head of the Fifth Supervision and Law Enforcement Division to lead a team to the scene for on-site verification.
Due to objective constraints at the time, including the Dadu River, road traffic conditions, and the mountainous terrain in the surrounding area, the verification team was unable to reach the site. The problem leads were then transferred to the Kangding Municipal People's Government.
Upon receiving the transferred leads, Kangding City immediately organized the natural resources, public security, emergency management, and other departments to conduct an investigation. To date, two suspects have been apprehended, and a large quantity of involved mineral products, materials, and equipment has been seized.
According to the investigation, seven illegal miners forcibly pried open a sealed abandoned mine shaft and set up camp at the operation site. They had ample supplies of fuel, generators, water pumps, and chemical agents. More than 70 bags of extracted ore were found at the scene. This was an organized gang operation, and had an accident occurred, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
At the meeting, the Kangding Municipal People's Government delivered a self-examination and analysis speech regarding the "10·14" illegal mining incident, comprehensively reported on the progress of the preliminary case investigation and handling work, directly confronted shortcomings in their work, and conducted a thorough review of the root causes of the problems.
The meeting noted that on October 23, 2025, a fatal illegal mining accident occurred at the Kangding Zhulin Gold Mine, resulting in four deaths and six injuries, with profoundly painful lessons. Less than a year later, another illegal mining incident occurred within the jurisdiction, which is extremely egregious in nature. This incident was promptly reported by the public and quickly handled, and fortunately no casualties were caused.
Relevant responsible officials of the Kangding Municipal People's Government made a statement, expressing sincere acceptance of all issues raised at the meeting and pledging to accept them all without reservation and carry out comprehensive rectification. In the next step, a special meeting will be convened immediately to study and deploy rectification and implementation work, refine and improve rectification measures, press responsibility at every level, and ensure that all work arrangements are fully implemented, effectively safeguarding the work safety defense line within the jurisdiction.
On the same day, precious metals markets showed notable movement. Sprott Physical Gold & Silver Trust (CEF) shares rose sharply, while Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS) shares also traded higher as investors continued to monitor developments affecting the gold mining sector.
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