Tibetan nomads clash with gold miners over sacred mountain

Tibetan nomads in China’s vast inland province of Qinghai have clashed with Chinese gold miners in attempts to defend a mountain considered sacred by local religious beliefs.

According to Radio Free Asia the clashes took place in Gade county in Qinghai’s Guolo prefecture earlier this month, with nomads setting fire to the gold miners’ tents and establishing 24-hour patrols to protect the Dringye Ngo Sorma mountain.

Miners set up camp in the area on August 10 with plans to mine gold in the valley adjacent to the mountain. By August 14, however, the miners had been driven from the area following aggressive actions by local nomads.

Local Tibetans believe the mountain to be the abode of a “ferocious and powerful” deity, and according to Tibetan sources have vowed to defend the sacred site with lives.

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