The Muli mine seen within the landscape of the northern part of the Chi-lien Mountains in the Tianjun and Gangcha Counties, on the Tibetan Plateau. At approximately 4100 m to 4300 m above sea level, the plateau is the main source of the Datong, Shule and the Buha rivers, which are all important tributaries of the Yellow River.

Since opencast mines were exploited illegally by the Kingho group and other enterprises, excavation and extrusion has caused the destruction of permafrost, wetlands and alpine meadows.

A Greenpeace investigation has revealed the presence of a giant coal mine that has been illegally encroaching on a nature reserve at the source of the Yellow River. The sprawling mining operation, covering an area 14 times larger than the City of London, at an altitude of over 4,000m, has been documented in detail for the first time by Greenpeace East Asia. With evidence gathered on the remote region with satellite images and analysis by legal experts, Greenpeace has established that the coal development violates a number of water protection laws and local nature reserve regulations.