In year 2005 local community complained about cattle dying after drinking waster water released into community stream to the company. The company sent investigation into the case, some investigators said the cattle death was caused by chemical waster released into the stream by the company but some other investigators denied the link and many farmers did not get compensation.

In April 2007, mining activities by the previous operators in the four mining license areas were stopped by the “TAR” government. In accordance with an agreement between the “TAR” government and China National Gold Group Corporation, the four mining licenses as well as the exploration licenses in the surrounding areas were consolidated under the Chinese government‟s consolidation policy for mining properties. Since then, there has been rapid expansion of the mining operations which now cover a total of 145.50km2 including a mining area of 76.19km2 and exploration covering an area of 66.41km2 at an altitude between 4,000m and 5,407m.

One of the major mining project in the Gyama copper mine, located not far from Lhasa, operated today by Tibet Huatailong Mining Development Company Limited, a subsidiary of China National Gold Group. It is a large scale polymetallic deposit consisting of copper, molybdenum, gold, silver, lead and zinc with the potential to become China‟s biggest copper producer in 10 years.

According to a 2010 article titled “Environmental impact of mining activity on the surface water quality in Tibet: Gyama valley,” the authors Xiang et al., firmly ascertain that “a localized severe heavy metal contamination is documented in the stream water of Gyamaxung-chu (chu means river) and wastewater treatment facilities in the Gyama valley.” It also states that “the environmental risk at the Gyamaxung-chu source area, where the measured contents correspond mainly to geochemical background was zero. However, there was a very high risk at the upper and middle parts of the stream and it appears to be both natural and accelerated by the extensive mining activities. The levels of metals (such as lead, copper, cadmium and zinc) represent the high risk for the environment, including local human populations and their livestock.” The article further goes on to say that “the great environmental concern are the many mining and processing deposits in the valley, containing large amount of heavy metals, such as lead, copper, zinc and manganese etc. These deposits are prone to leak its contaminants through seepage water and erosion of particulates, and pose therefore a future risk for the local environment and a potential threat to the downstream water quality.”

On Friday, 29 March 2013, 83 miners were killed in a mine induced landslide due to mismanagement of mine waste or over-piling of mine waste rocks on a steep V-shaped valley at the Gyama (Ch:Jiama) Copper Polymetallic Mine. The official statement about the mine landslide was obediently published by Xinhua News without the slightest hint of journalistic objectivity despite the loss of so many lives.

On September 23, 2014, more than 1000 local Tibetans of Dokar and Zibuk villages near Tibetan capital city Lhasa protested against poisoning of their rivers by Gyama Copper Poly-metallic Mine. The mine is located close to a stream that locals use for drinking, irrigation and animal feeding. But as always, the local officials conveniently declared that the water pollution in the rivers was caused by natural factors and not by the mine.

A recent news from early August 2015 in Radio free Asia warn of possible new projects coming up in the region: "Chinese road-building crews have begun cutting a new track leading to Gyama Valley near Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa, leading to local fears that a new mine may soon be built in a region already heavily polluted by Chinese extraction operations, sources say."[1]

According to the company‟s assessment report, Gyama Copper Polymetallic Mine will have a total of 4 open pit mines and two underground mining areas (Figure 2). Open pit mines include, Niumatang (Depth: 610m, life: 8 years, Status: operational), Tongqianshan (Depth: 290m, life: 3 years, Status: operational), South Pit (Depth: 539m, life: 8 years, Status: Started in 2013) and Jiaoyan (Depth: 495m, life: 21 years, status: starting in 2020). Production has gone on since 2010 at a rate of 1.8 Mtpa ROM (Run Of Mine) ore at two open cut pits: Tongqianshan and Niumatang. The two underground mines are North Areas (life: 29 yrs) and South Areas (life: 21 yrs and starting in 2023).5

The Mining Company is expected to get an average net cash flow of $120 million every year for the 31 years of LOM (Life of Mine). The key minerals produced are copper (Cu), gold (Au), silver (Ag), molybdenum (Mo), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn). The contributions of these mineral ores to gross revenues are 75%, 11%, 7% and 6%. The mine is expected to get an annual production of 176 million pounds of copper, 35 thousand ounces of gold, 2.7 million ounces of silver and 2.3 thousand tonnes of molybdenum