President Xi Jinping stated, “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” Chinese people and governments at all levels have increasingly recognized the critical importance of environmental protection and river conservation to economic development and social life. Besides direct wastewater discharge, illegal quarrying and sand mining in rivers and mountainous riverbanks pose the most severe threats to these pristine landscapes.
Over the past few decades, China has experienced rapid development. Driven by large-scale infrastructure construction, the demand for construction materials such as sand and gravel has soared. Tempted by huge profits, unregulated stone and sand mines have proliferated across various regions, especially along major rivers, with many engaging in unauthorized and reckless extraction. Such unregulated activities inflict severe environmental damage, and even create hidden dangers for navigation safety and debris flows. Additionally, improper blasting operations can directly endanger people’s lives and property. Government authorities, including the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, State Administration of Work Safety, and Ministry of Water Resources, will struggle to effectively curb these practices without upgrading their regulatory capabilities through technological advancement.
Local governments have long aimed to promote the rational development and utilization of limited sand and gravel resources, clarify tax and fee collection, and boost fiscal revenues. Balancing scientific sand and gravel management, river protection, flood control, and coordinated economic and social development has long been a key issue for relevant departments like the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The State Administration of Work Safety bears unshirkable responsibility for overseeing the safety of legal stone and sand mining operations, while the Maritime Safety Administration, Water Administration, and other relevant bodies take the lead in protecting rivers and dykes. Establishing a real-time, efficient basin-wide monitoring system is essential to provide robust support for all regulatory authorities. Guoxin Longxin’s Networked Solution for Preventing Illegal Quarrying and Sand Mining offers an effective way to address this challenge.
How can we put an end to the repetitive “cat-and-mouse” game between regulators and illegal miners? How can we achieve the scientific, rational, and orderly development of sand and gravel resources while further regulating extraction activities? Guoxin Longxin’s Networked Solution for Preventing Illegal Quarrying and Sand Mining was developed to tackle these pressing issues. In the process of regulating and preventing illegal mining, authorities face the following core challenges in law enforcement and supervision:
- Delayed Information: Illegal activities are often detected too late. By the time authorities take action, ecological damage has already occurred, resulting in extremely high restoration costs—or even irreversible harm.
- Difficulties in Evidence Collection: Most unregulated mines lack proper records of extraction volumes. Without on-site observation, it is hard to verify the quantity of extracted materials, which complicates evidence collection and law enforcement.
- Challenges in Centralized Management: Mines are often scattered in remote areas, leading to delayed data collection and inefficient production planning. Fragmented management proves ineffective; a unified, comprehensive monitoring platform is imperative.
To address these practical issues, Guoxin Longxin’s Networked Solution for Preventing Illegal Quarrying and Sand Mining, based on multi-mode wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN) technologies, stands out as the optimal choice.
At the core of Guoxin Longxin’s solution are the iMAX 5G Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) and a customized integrated data acquisition and management platform. This platform integrates high-definition video feeds, safety data, and management systems, and can be provided by Guoxin Longxin’s ecological partners. The former, complemented by carrier fiber optic cables as the backbone network, ensures real-time, high-bandwidth connectivity. The latter enables the collection and processing of monitoring information.
Below is a schematic diagram of the wireless metropolitan area network topology for stone and sand mining prevention and control:
The HD surveillance points deployed along the river enable real-time and effective supervision of quarrying and sand mining activities. They not only serve as a monitoring tool to curb illegal extraction but also act as a powerful deterrent. For sand and gravel enterprises operating in compliance with laws and regulations, the implementation of this system will also improve their work safety standards—a tangible demonstration of the government’s commitment to serving the people.
The Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN) system provided by Guoxin Longxin boasts the following distinctive features:
Designed to build wireless cities or address long-distance outdoor network connectivity needs, the wireless broadband MAN system offers extended communication ranges across all its device series. Among them, the iMAX-6000 and FibeAIR high-frequency microwave systems serve as the backbone of outdoor communication networks, while multiple series including the iMAX-8000H/S and Huanyou low-frequency MESH on-the-move communication systems function as access networks.
- Communication Range: Under line-of-sight conditions, even the compact iMAX 5G dedicated communication system with integrated antennas can easily achieve 10-kilometer radius coverage in point-to-multipoint mode; in point-to-point mode, the maximum range can reach 120 kilometers. The Huanyou low-frequency MESH on-the-move communication system is capable of meeting the long-distance communication needs of various mobile carriers such as vehicles, ships, and UAVs during high-speed movement.
- Transmission Bandwidth: The iMAX-8000H is a 600 Mbps point-to-multipoint communication system; the iMAX-6000 supports 150/300/600 Mbps bandwidth in point-to-point mode; the FibeAIR high-frequency microwave system delivers a maximum communication rate of 20 Gbps.
- Stability and Reliability: The products are engineered to meet stringent outdoor environmental standards (including resistance to extreme temperatures, water, dust, lightning, and corrosion). Having undergone years of rigorous testing and continuous iteration in harsh field projects such as water conservancy, petroleum, and forest fire prevention, these products offer exceptional reliability and stability—making them ideally suited for operation in quarrying and sand mining sites.
Another major challenge in building monitoring systems in mountainous areas or along riverbanks is power supply. Laying power cables from the foot of a mountain to its peak can cost millions of yuan, with prohibitive construction expenses and timelines. For some surveillance points located in remote mountain forests, accessing grid power is an extremely difficult task. The optimal power supply solution here is Guoxin Longxin’s iPower2000 solar lithium battery power supply system.
The Power2000 is an off-grid solar power supply system designed for outdoor environments such as river courses and mountainous areas. It aligns with the eco-friendly development philosophy of scenic spots while solving the power supply challenges of decentralized devices like wireless network systems and video surveillance points operating in field settings.
This product series effectively addresses the long-term and temporary power supply needs of outdoor video surveillance and information monitoring stations. Built on lithium-ion batteries and high-performance monocrystalline silicon solar panels, it outperforms conventional solar power systems equipped with lead-acid or gel batteries by featuring a simpler structure, smaller size, lighter weight, and longer service life. It is therefore an ideal choice for powering IT systems requiring sustained operation in outdoor environments.
Legal quarrying and sand mining operations require both protection and supervision, and this system is built to serve compliant enterprises in the sector. Through real-time video feeds, regulatory authorities and plant managers can monitor on-site operational conditions dynamically. Production data collected from quarries and sand mines enables controlled and planned production activities. The system also issues timely alerts to halt operations during severe weather conditions, preventing potential production accidents before they occur. The synergy of these functions empowers management departments and plant operators to make science-based decisions promptly.
Guoxin Longxin’s innovative design philosophy fundamentally transforms the approach to quarrying and sand mining management by integrating supervision with service. It will drive the oversight of illegal quarrying and sand mining into the “Internet Plus” era—a transition that is essential for elevating the standards of production supervision and safety management in the industry.
Leveraging its robust technical capabilities and extensive project experience, Guoxin Longxin is able to provide users with tailor-made system designs and optimal solutions.
