13 Jul 2010 10:15

Xinjiang's Wusu City coal discovery estimated at 300 mln tons

Shanghai. July 13. INTERFAX-CHINA - About 300 million tons of new coal reserves were recently discovered in western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region's Wusu City, according to statistics released by the Xinjiang Land and Resources Bureau (XLRB) on July 12.

According to the statistics, the discovery will boost the city's total proven coal reserves to 800 million tons.

To make use of the new coal resources, the Wusu City government said it plans to put three coal mines with an annual coal production capacity of 1.2 million tons each into operation by the end of this year.

The city also announced plans to build a large coal-fueled thermal power plant and a cement factory, which will use coal waste from the thermal plant as feedstock.

With proven coal reserves of between 1.82 trillion to 2.19 trillion tons, Xinjiang now accounts for around 40 percent of China's total coal reserves.

-WV