China’s railway line to Tibet launched earlier this month is set to accelerate the process of resource exploitation in Tibet. Mineral water will be Tibet’s first natural resource to be exploited for commercial use by China after the Qinghai-Tibet railway began operation.
According to a Xinhua report on english.eastday.com, the geological and mineral exploitation bureau of occupied Tibet Autonomous Region has located over 100 drinking water springs with the largest source found in Damxung (Tibetan: Damshung) County, which can produce 3,000 tons of drinking water a day. Quoting Lu Yan, a senior engineer with the bureau, it said the daily output of the lake in Damxung could fill 50 train cars or two trains.
“Bottling the Damxung mineral water could generate an annual output value of one billion yuan (US$125 million),” Lu was quoted as saying.
The report also quoted one Dorji from Chinese Academy of Sciences as saying, “Development of Tibet’s mineral water resources will not only contribute to cargo transportation on the railway, it will also increase the value of local mineral water resources.” Scientists and experts from the academy had reportedly carried out research studies on the region’s development prospects.
