By Phurbu Thinley

LHASA, June 13: According to China’s official news agency Xinhua, the local authorities of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) are set to ban the mining of gold, mercury, arsenic and peat to preserve mineral resources and protect the environment.

"Mercury and arsenic mining can pollute water supplies, peat mining can destroy wetlands and gold mining can ruin grasslands and rivers," Wang Baosheng, director of the Land and Resources Department of the TAR was quoted as saying.

Wang also reportedly said that the region is drawing up a new plan to protect mineral resources following the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

"Although Tibet boasts rich resources of arsenic and gold, we will still ban the exploitation of these resources for the sake of environmental protection," Wang was quoted as saying.

Dubbed as Asia's Water Tower, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has abundant resources of water, wetlands and grasslands the report states.

According to the report, thirty-eight nature reserves have been established in Tibet encompassing an area of 408,300 square kilometers, accounting for 34 percent of the region's total land area.

In the meanwhile, the Manchester based Central China Gold Fields PLC has said that it has further extended its agreement with Hubei Chuxiong Minerals Exploration and Development Ltd until Sept 30 to explore and apply for licences over the De Ming Ding area in Tibet.

The gold exploration company has reportedly said that its geologists would start field work in the area by late July.

According to Thomson Financial (London), the company had earlier in February this year had extended the agreement till June 30.

The company is reported as saying the De Ming Ding area of about 1,789 square kilometre is prospective for porphyry-type copper deposits, with the exploration work having revealed several interesting targets.