August 15th marked National Ecology Day, coinciding with the official implementation of the Ecological and Environmental Code. On this day, the Supreme People's Procuratorate released a set of typical cases regarding public interest litigation to safeguard the construction of a beautiful China, which included the case of procuratorial organs in Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, supervising the rectification of illegal mining in Wushi Town, Qujiang District.
According to the case's basic facts, Shaoguan De Mou Tourism Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as De Mou Company) leased 100 mu of collective land from a village group in Wushi Town, Qujiang District, in January 2024. The company registered the land with the Wushi Town People's Government (hereinafter referred to as Wushi Town Government) as agricultural land for fishery breeding facilities, which was approved by the Qujiang District Natural Resources Bureau. On July 9, 2024, it obtained approval to use 29.8 mu of forest land and began construction. From the start of construction until January 2025, De Mou Company carried out illegal mining of fluorite and other mineral resources under the guise of a "slimming fish project." It was estimated that the illegal extraction of sand and stone resources at the site totaled 63,792.68 cubic meters.
In November 2024, the Shaoguan City People's Procuratorate (hereinafter referred to as Shaoguan Procuratorate) received an internet tip-off, which was forwarded level by level from the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Due to the case's complexity and significance, a special task force was established to conduct a preliminary investigation in coordination with the relevant grassroots procuratorates. During the initial verification, the Qujiang District Natural Resources Bureau provided an appraisal report, commissioned from two surveying companies, which concluded that all rock minerals in the mining area were ordinary sand and gravel. The procuratorial organs reviewed the report and found the investigation methods to be non-standard and incomplete, raising suspicions of a false report.
Under the unified command of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Guangdong Provincial People's Procuratorate (hereinafter referred to as Guangdong Procuratorate), the Shaoguan procuratorial organs commissioned a professional institution to conduct satellite remote sensing monitoring and analysis of the site's operations and surface mineral types. Using big data platform oversight models, on-site investigations, drone photography, and on-site sampling and testing, it was determined that the excavated sand and gravel were primarily fluorite and siliceous raw material ore (quartzite), which were largely transported to counties like Ruyuan and cities like Yingde in Qingyuan for sale.
Following the case's assignment by the Shaoguan Procuratorate, the Qujiang District People's Procuratorate (hereinafter referred to as Qujiang Procuratorate) filed administrative public interest litigation cases against the Qujiang District Natural Resources Bureau and the Wushi Town Government in February 2025. Through on-site investigations, interviews with nearby villagers, and collection of complaint and tip-off information, the Qujiang Procuratorate further confirmed the long-term damage to the ecological environment, establishing that both the Qujiang District Natural Resources Bureau and the Wushi Town Government had supervisory responsibilities. Consultations with these two entities revealed they were shifting blame for supervisory duties, failing to take over the site promptly, conduct emergency response, or initiate ecological restoration work, leading to persistent risks of ecological damage and geological disasters.
On July 1 and July 7, 2025, the Qujiang Procuratorate issued procuratorial recommendations to the Qujiang District Natural Resources Bureau and the Wushi Town Government, urging them to fulfill their legal duties in mineral resource law enforcement supervision, local government ecological environment protection, and geological disaster prevention, and to carry out emergency response and ecological restoration at the site. The implementation of these recommendations was continuously tracked. After the deadline for responding to the recommendations expired, the procuratorial organs inspected the site and found that the exposed mine pits and damaged vegetation remained unchanged, with the administrative agencies taking no substantial supervisory measures, and public interest damages continuing.
Because all first-instance administrative litigation cases in Shaoguan City are centrally adjudicated by the Wujiang District People's Court (hereinafter referred to as Wujiang Court), the Shaoguan Procuratorate guided the Qujiang Procuratorate to transfer the case to the Wujiang District People's Procuratorate (hereinafter referred to as Wujiang Procuratorate) for review and prosecution. On December 10, 2025, the Wujiang Procuratorate filed administrative public interest litigation against the Qujiang District Natural Resources Bureau and the Wushi Town Government. During the court proceedings, the Qujiang District Natural Resources Bureau commissioned a third-party agency to develop an ecological restoration plan, which was handed over to the Wushi Town Government for implementation. The restoration work was completed and passed inspection in May 2026. The Shaoguan Procuratorate, Qujiang Procuratorate, and relevant court units conducted on-site investigations, using drone photography and data comparison to confirm that the restoration goals had been achieved.
In late June and early July 2026, the Wujiang Court issued administrative judgments against the two defendants, confirming that the administrative agencies had failed to fully perform their supervisory duties before the lawsuit. Meanwhile, under the supervision of the Guangdong Procuratorate, the Shaoguan Procuratorate's public interest litigation department transferred clues regarding the illegal mining criminal case to the public security organs for investigation in January 2025, and handled the related criminal附带 civil public interest litigation case. This case is currently under review and prosecution. In response to issues of illegal mineral procurement by processing plants, environmental pollution, and production safety risks identified in the case, the Ruyuan County People's Procuratorate simultaneously urged the emergency management, ecological environment, and industry and information technology departments to fulfill their respective regulatory duties.
During case handling, the Shaoguan Procuratorate transferred clues of disciplinary and legal violations by relevant personnel to the discipline inspection and supervision organs. As a result, 13 individuals were subjected to party disciplinary actions. On November 28, 2025, based on the handling of this case and the situation of various illegal mining cases across the city, the Shaoguan Procuratorate issued a social governance procuratorial recommendation to the city's Natural Resources Bureau. This prompted the bureau to collaborate with other departments in a full-chain crackdown, advancing a centralized rectification of 19 cases citywide and organizing the restoration of 11 illegal mining sites, covering a total area of 147 hectares.