There's money in that desert

Elion Resources inked a deal to partner with Tongliao city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as part of a plan to seek ways to manage the ecological economy in the Kerqin region, a senior company official said in Beijing Tuesday.
Elion Resources Group's strategy includes developing new energy opportunities, promoting eco-tourism and developing an ecological economy for the people of the region, Wang Wenbiao, chairman of Elion Resources Group, told reporters in Beijing Tuesday.
Kerqin sandy land, in eastern Inner Mongolia, was once vast grassland but has now become the largest sandy land by area in China, totaling 42,300 square kilometers.
The company's strategy includes developing new energy projects, promoting desert eco-tourism and developing an ecological economy, according to Wang.
The Kubuqi (Hobq) desert, also in Inner Mongolia, is the eighth-largest desert in China and covers an area totaling 18,600 square kilometers.
Elion Resources Group's invested more than 2 billion yuan ($303.79 million) into the Kubuqi (Hobq)'s reforestation and area industry development over the past 22 years.
The group's business in the Kubuqi (Hobq) desert mainly involves cultivation of drought tolerant plants like licorice, popular in herbal medicine.
The Elion Resources Group's desert medicine business generated income of over 1 billion yuan ($151.89 million) in 2009, the group said in a statement.
Inner Mongolia Yili Energy Co, a listed subsidiary of Elion Resources Group, also announced its estimation for its past fiscal year in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange Tuesday.