An overall plan of a coal mine with a yearly production of 113 million tonnes in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, according to the local authorities Wednesday.
The Kumtag mine in Shanshan County under the city of Turpan covers an area of about 338 square km and has an estimated coal resource of about 23.5 billion tonnes, according to the regional development and reform commission.
The overall plan is a guidance document for project approval, construction and production at the mine.
Xinjiang's coal resource reserves have been estimated to exceed 2.19 trillion tonnes, accounting for 40 percent of the country's total. The whole region produced over 37.5 million tonnes of raw coal in the Jan.-Feb. period, up 17.7 percent year on year despite a labor shortage and transportation difficulties brought by the coronavirus epidemic.
