Society

Fish die after tin mine tailings dam collapses

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-27 06:49

NANNING - More than 100 tonnes of dead farmed fish were found in a river in south China after a tin mine tailings dam collapsed in the upper reaches.

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The fish were found dead in the fish farms in the Huanghua River basin in Cenxi City in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region between September 23 and 26, the Cenxi city departments of animal husbandry and marine industries said in a statement on Sunday.

Huanghua River lies in the downstream of a tailings dam at the Xinyi Yinyan Tin Mine, owned by Zijin Mining Group Co. in Qianbai Township of Xinyi City in Guangxi's neighboring Guangdong Province.

The dam collapsed on September 21 after being hit by a landslide triggered by heavy rains caused by Typhoon Fanapi, leaving five dead, six missing and seven injured.

Environmental watchdogs in both Guangxi and Guangdong have set up a number of water quality test stations along the Huanghua River and Qianpai River in the wake of the dam collapse.

Latest environmental test results available show that water of the Huanghua River, which crosses Guangdong-Guangxi border, was clear of contamination as of Friday.

Tests were conducted on a regular basis, officials previously said.

No latest test results are immediately available.

A spokesman of a fish farm association in Guangxi said if Zijin was found responsible, fish farmers would urge the government to launch an investigation and seek compensation for them.

Zijin Mining Group Co., China's largest gold producer, was blamed for a massive fish kill in east China's Fujian Province in July after a copper plant owned by Zijin contaminated a local river.