The country dealt with 70,000 illegal mining cases in an 18-month period from last year to the end of June, reported the Ministry of Land and Resources.

The ministry recorded 64,661 cases of mining without a license, 1,316 cases involving illegal trading in prospecting and mining rights, and 4,383 cases of mining beyond boundary lines.

China punished 2,660 officials who held stakes in mines.

More than 1,400 suspects charged with mining crimes have been handed over to judicial departments. The government revoked 1,647 exploration and mining licenses.

China has intensified the crackdown on illegal mining, and enhanced supervision in this area. The objective is to improve management of exploration and mining of the country's mineral resources.

Because of the constant price rises for mining products such as coal and iron, illegal and unlicensed mining still exists in China, the ministry said.

Illegal mine owners are even willing to risk their own lives in the rush for soaring profits brought by booming demand for mineral resources.

Zhang Liyou, a villager in Yinan County of east China's Shandong Province, died in an accident in an illegal gold mine that the local government had closed but he reopened in 2004.