Active and Prospecting Mine Licenses in XUAR (as of 2023)

In this analysis, we examine and map the relationships between Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region-based mines reliant on forced labor and global networks of finance and trade — including hundreds of American companies and the index fund portfolios of several major asset management firms.

October 11, 2023, C4ADS

The world is increasingly exposed to the mining industry in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), with gold and other minerals extracted from the region linked to global supply chains and investment. These minerals, as with other products manufactured or processed in XUAR, are at high risk of being produced through forced labor or in conditions of human rights violations.

Using publicly available mining licenses and corporate data, C4ADS mapped the mining industry in XUAR, connecting mines to their ultimate beneficial owners. While a mining license is typically owned by a company registered in the region, these companies are often subsidiaries of large state-owned corporations, many headquartered outside of XUAR. These massive mining corporations are among the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) most valuable, and frequently have one or more of their member companies publicly listed on the PRC or Hong Kong stock exchanges. An examination of the case of gold extraction in the region provides just one example of not only safety infractions and environmental damage caused by the industry, but also considerable evidence of forced labor and other human rights violations taking place in XUAR mines.

Download the full report here.