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XUEBAODING: Pingwu County, Sichuan Province, China
Mineralogical Record, Jan/Feb 2005 by Ottens, Berthold
Beautiful specimens showing large, lustrous, deep orange crystals of scheelite associated with brilliant black twinned cassiterite crystals and tabular, gemmy crystals of aquamarine beryl on beds of muscovite crystals are characteristic of Mount Xuebaoding, Sichuan Province, China. These specimens have already become familiar to mineral collectors in the West, and supplies of them should continue to be available, thanks to active specimen mining and marketing by the Chinese.
INTRODUCTION: THE SETTING
"Pingwu," "Songpan," "Mount Xuebaoding," "Xue Bao Diang" and occasionally "Huya" are the locality designations generally cited for specimens of orange scheelite associated with cassiterite and beryl from Sichuan Province in central China. Xuebaoding (pronounced "Shway-bow-ding") Mountain, known to the local Tibetan population as Shardungri, is the source of the scheelite; it lies in the autonomous Tibetan Aba Prefecture, on the eastern border of Songpan County. Part of the mountain lies in Songpan County and part lies in Pingwu County. At 5,588 meters, the mountain boasts a year-round snowcap and is one of the highest peaks in Sichuan Province (the highest is the 7,556-meter Gongga).
The town of Songpan, lying at an elevation of 3,000 meters in the valley of the Minjiang River, is an important center of tourism thanks to its picturesque appearance and its many Tibetan inhabitants. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), the Tibetan-style old quarter of the town was encircled by a 6,200-meter-long city wall made of brick, and several impressive gates are still preserved. From Songpan, trekking tours may be undertaken-those done on horseback are especially popular. The town lies 320 km from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, and it may be reached from there by public bus in about 10 hours. The area around Songpan, called Munigou, is a special attraction for tourists, and is now under development by the government of Songpan County, as are the adjoining Jiuzahaigou and Hualong areas. These parts of Aba Prefecture offer a characteristic local charm because they display the customs and folkways of the cultures of Tibet and of the Qiang peoples. 50 km northeast of Songpan one traverses a mountain pass at 4,000 meters and comes into the impressive Hualong National Park, at 3,300-3,600 meters above sea level. In the valley of Hualong ("yellow dragon"), which is regarded as holy, there are wonderful terraced formations of travertine enclosing countless little lakes. From the head of the valley, lying at 3,700 meters elevation, one can enjoy on clear days a tremendous view of the peak of Xuebaoding Mountain.
The town of Pingwu lies on the Fujiang River about 100 km southeast of Xuebaoding Mountain and on the border between the Longmenshan and Minshan Mountains (Nakamura, 2003). A 500-year-old Buddhist temple there was saved from destruction during the Cultural Revolution, and is now one of the town's few points of interest for visitors. The nature preserves near the towns of Wanglang and Huya presently hold more than 250 living panda bears.
MINE WORKINGS
To reach the scheelite specimen workings-locally called a mine-the visitor travels from Pingwu (elevation 800 meters) up a narrow, partly canyon-like valley, along an unpaved, often very muddy road, towards Huya. This village (elevation 1,500 meters) is ringed by steep mountains, and lies on the edge of Huya Xuebaoding National Park, one of the protected panda bear habitats. From there the collecting area is reached by a laborious climb on foot along a steep path, through wonderfully varying vegetation. Depending on elevation, one can admire orchids, different species of azaleas, bamboo plants with mushrooms growing among them, and, after 3,500 meters, high-alpine flora. Since the mountain people travel this route entirely on horseback, the path is heavily trodden and very muddy, but not dangerous. The last part of the climb leads over a ridge at an elevation of about 4,000 meters, and then to the mining settlement called Zhibaisha, at 3,900 meters.
During the snow-free season (May through October), about 100 people live at the workings and dig for scbeelite ore and specimens, more or less in large groups. A greenhouse-like structure serves as accommodation: constructed of bamboo and torn plastic sheeting, partly collapsed and thoroughly stained, it is in the middle of a deep marsh, and gives an impression of total dilapidation. All food supplies, fuel, and mining equipment must be transported on horseback from Huya; the trip takes a day, even for local people accustomed to the high mountains.
To the northeast of Zhibaisha are steeply ascending rock faces to elevations from 4,100 to 4,300 meters, with clearly delineated quartz veins and traces of earlier mining activity. Directly below the rock faces, groups of people are busy sorting the scree and passing it through very simple washing flumes to concentrate the grains of scheelite. For the concentrate won through all their hard work the miners receive 12 RMB per kilogram. A year's earnings for this kind of labor comes to only 2,000 to 3,000 RMB (one U.S. dollar = about 8.2 RMB). Of the 100 people living in Zhibaisha, about 70 work at winning ore by washing the rocky detritus and 30 work, in groups of 4 to 8, at digging specimens for collectors.
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