Copper mines offer paltry sum for polluting river

Dai Mingfa is the Party chief of Dai village, where the severely polluted Le'an River is located, in Mingkou town of Leping city, in East China's Jiangxi province, Aug 28, 2011. The people of Dai village are among about 420,000 residents in Leping city who live around the basin of Le'an River and suffer from water pollution caused by mines in Dexing city in the upper reaches of the river. The mines, owned by Jiangxi Copper Corp, the largest copper producer in China, have been discharging industrial waste water into the river for years, harming the health of people in the lower reaches. A total of 9,269 mu (617 hectares) in arable land in Leping city have been abandoned due to no harvest, and the cancer rate in the region has grown. However, the mining companies' compensation for the people's loss is a total of just 180,000 yuan ($28,306), which was based on estimates from a 20-year-old survey. The amount ends up being less than 1 yuan for each affected resident. [Photo/Xinhua]