TAIYUAN, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- North China's Shanxi Province has prevented the renewal of mining licenses for 25 companies, banning their operations in the province's nature reserves, provincial authorities said Tuesday.
The ban was imposed after a team from the central government found various illegal projects within the province's nature reserves last year, according to the Land Resources Department of the provincial government.
The department has asked the companies to re-register their mining rights after the exclusion of reserves in nature reserves.
"The next step is to punish illegal mining in nature reserves and national parks," said Zhou Jianchun, head of the department. He added that the province plans to wipe out mining acitivities in all nature reserves in two to three years.
Shanxi's move is part of a national campaign to tighten environmental controls in nature reserves.
Last year, mining was stopped in all nature reserves in northeast China's Liaoning Province. In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, some key nature reserves have also closed mines.
