1st coalfield beneath seabed to begin production
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-08-18 15:04

China's first coalfield beneath seabed will be able to produce coal by the end of the year, according to information from China Coal Trading Market based in Taiyuan, capital of North China's Shanxi Province.

The coal mining venture, belonging to Beizhao Colliery of Longkou Mining Group in East China's Shandong Province, is situated beneath Bohai Bay seabed to the north of Shandong Peninsula.

Three-dimensional seismic prospecting above the sea and coastline physical and geological prospecting, plus 15 rounds of technical dissertations conducted by a number of Chinese colleges prove that Longkou Mining Group has 150 sq km of its coalfield beneath the seabed, with the coal reserves estimated at approximately 800 million tons.

The drilling platform will be ready by the fourth quarter of this year, said the sources.

Up to now, only a few developed nations in the world, such as the United States, Britain and Canada are capable of conducting coal prospecting beneath the seabed.

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