The official Xinhua news agency in the past week quoted a senior government engineer in Tibet saying tapping mineral resources in Tibet could generate up to 10 billion yuan (1.25 billion dollars) for the region in five to 10 years.

"The opening of the Tibet railway will have important significance for the development of mineral resources in Tibet," Lu Yan, a senior engineer from the Tibet Geological, Mining, Exploitation and Development Bureau, was quoted as saying.

"Mining will then comprise one third of Tibet's gross domestic product and will become a major industry in Tibet."

Experts, however, warned that the government must proceed with extreme caution to avoid the kind of environmental destruction other parts of China have seen in recent years due to the widespread extraction of coal and other natural resources to fuel the country's fast economic growth.

"The most reasonable method is to have big corporations do the mining, that's the only way to ensure it's done properly," said Qin Kezhang, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Geology and Geophysics.

"If they allow small companies to randomly carry out mining, we will definitely destroy this place... They have no long-term goals in mind, just quick profits."

Tibet is believed to be rich in minerals, and has more copper than anywhere else in China.

Since 1999, China has spent nearly 1.1 billion yuan surveying the region's resources and has found more than 100 minerals, such as gold, chromium, lead, zinc, iron and boron, Xinhua said.

So far, most of the work being done is exploration, but the opening of the highest altitude railway in the world this month could quicken the pace, experts said.

"The construction of the railroad has a big impact in pushing forward development. Before, there were a lot of places that couldn't be developed, because you need transportation and water," Qin said.

One of the main reasons for building the railroad is to facilitate the mining of natural resources, he said.

Tibet is also believed to have oil, but exploration needs to be done to confirm that and see where the oil is, he said.

To extract the resources, a lot of investment is needed -- one factor that could delay exploitation of the land, in addition to the fact that it is inhospitable country and much more costly to mine than elsewhere in China.

"It'll be very difficult. ... Tibet has high altitude. With high altitude, it costs more to send workers up there, and you can't have them work all year round like you can in other parts of China," Qin said. "Gaining a profit will be more challenging in Tibet."

Still, the lure is too tempting to ignore for local governments and entrepreneurs seeking to cash in on China's thirst for resources.

"My concern is the government should think about a scientific plan for mining, and conservation should be one of the top priorities," said Dawa Tsering, director of the WWF's office in Tibet.

"If the government is allowing companies into Tibet to mine, if the design is really done poorly, that will bring really strong negative impact for the environment."

Water pollution, along with the destruction of pastures and animal habitats, are examples of the potential damage, he said.

"This could all have a great impact on wildlife," Tsering said.

Mining is already a serious problem, causing erosion of the fragile topsoil on the Tibetan plateau and the consequent siltation of water courses, said Tenzin Tsultrim, head of the environment and development desk of the exiled Tibetan government's information department in Dharamsala, India.

"In the case of the Tibetan region, even though environmental protection is acclaimed as part of the official policy, there remains a huge gap between the official claims and the ground reality," Tsultrim said.

"Since the Tibetan Plateau is one of the world's most significant high plateau upstream environments, mining in Tibet would impact not only Tibet, but also Asia and beyond."

Mining will have an adverse impact on the rivers as the mines will draw water supply from them and pollute them with the release of mine waste, affecting the population living down stream, Tsultrim said.

Farmers and nomads have also had to move to make way for mining projects.

While some hoped the increasing participation of foreign mining companies in mining in Tibet could improve mining practices, it could accelerate mining and environmental destruction, Tsultrim said.

There are some positive signs that the central Chinese and Tibetan governments are more aware of the importance of protecting the fragile environment, where many major rivers, including China's longest, the Yangtze, originate, some say.

In the mid-90s, a lot of small companies were going into the Changtang area of Tibet, which has the biggest habitat for the endangered Tibetan antelope, to carry out mining activities.

However, in the last two to three years, the Tibetan government became worried about the impact on the environment and banned exploration in the area, Tsering said.

"Now there's discussion about whether the government should allow mining activities or activities that are destructive to the environment," Tsering said.

"There are a lot of open discussion on the Internet."

Qin said the government banned mining of alluvial gold last year after mining activity harmed the grass area nearby.

Yu Jie, a government and public affairs officer for Greenpeace, said a new law passed in 2003 that requires environmental impact assessments to be conducted for all major projects could also provide some hope.

But a look at how mining has caused collapsed homes, depleted ground water and polluted the air throughout China makes few hopeful.

"Currently the mining industry is not doing a very good job. ... The damage to Tibet could be greater because its eco-system is more vulnerable. Once you destroy it, it's hard to recover."

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