According to a statement issued on the website of the provincial government on Thursday, officials from the cities and counties involved are set to meet at the end of this month to further implement the project. An improved project plan will be submitted to the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

Migrants may find it difficult adapting to the new environment, Feng Zhiming, a researcher at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times.

"The local government needs to provide enough jobs for these migrants to help them settle down," he said. "Blending into a new environment is no easy thing even if the relocation project happens within one province."

Mining companies are reportedly funding the project.

One company overseeing the project was set up in April with a registered capital of 3 billion yuan from its two stockholders: the provincial finance bureau and Shaanxi Non-ferrous Metals Holding Group Co, the Economic Observer reported.

A total 6 billion yuan has been raised for this year's relocation from the Qinba areas, the Beijing-based paper reported, of which 1 billion yuan came from the provincial finance bureau, 2 billion from the mining company and the rest from a bank loan.

Shenhua Group, the nation's biggest coal producer, will help the provincial government raise 2.2 billion yuan for the Baiyu relocation this year, according to the Economic Observer.

"It's not difficult to imagine that these companies have some secret deal with the provincial government for their own interests in the region," Dong Miao, a resident of the city of Yulin in the north of the province, told the Global Times.

All efforts to contact both companies failed on Thursday.

Shaanxi is rich in coal, gold, iron and gas. The Qinba city of Hanzhong is the fifth-largest gold producer in China.

The two areas' total resources are worth more than 42 trillion yuan – one third of the national total – according to the provincial government website. The provincial government denied trading resources for funding.

"The participation of the enterprises helps relieve the residents of the burden of relocation and demonstrates their willingness to take social responsibility," an unnamed official was quoted as saying by the Economic Observer.