Source: Inner Mongolia News
07-19-2007 19:14
A name that usually resonates to Chinese consumers of cashmere now means energy.
Erdus, renowned type of cashmere, is also the name of an up-to-now little-known city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Soon Erdus, as China's key coal production base, might outshine the fabric's fame due to its natural resources.
The Erdus government announced recently that the city probably boasts the largest untapped coal reserves in China.
According to a statement issued by the local government in May, total proven coal reserves in Erdus are about 149.6 billion tons - and the future is even brighter.
"Prospective coal reserves could be 1,000 billion tons," says Li Zhijiang, vice-chief of the Erdus coal mining industry bureau.
Yet it is a new mining area, with many coal chemical projects still waiting for approval from the central government.
"Most coal chemical projects are still waiting" evaluations on impacts to the environment, water sources, security and soil conservation studies, says Gao Zhiguo, director of the publicity and education department from the Environmental Protection Bureau of Erdus.
Erdus has ranked first in coal output in China for the past four years. In 2004, total proven coal reserves were 124.4 billion tons. In 2006, it jumped to 146.6 billion tons.
Edrus's coal output in 2006 was 161 million tons, fully two-thirds of the coal output of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and 8 percent of the national total.
Rich natural resources have driven the city's astonishing economic boom. In 2006, the GDP for Erdus jumped 45 percent to 80 billion yuan, compared to 55 billion yuan in 2005. Its per capita GDP increased from $4,600 in 2005 to $6,645 last year.
Revenues totaled 148 billion yuan, up by 56 percent from the previous year, which made Edrus the richest city in the region.
According to statistics from the city's ministry of land and resources, coal exploration has covered more than 70 percent of its land. The biggest three coalfields are Zhungeer, Dongsheng and Zhuozishan with proven coal deposits of 149.6 billion tons and a total area of 10,100 square km, about 17 percent of the coal-bearing land.
Beside those three coalfields, 50,800 square kms of coal-bearing land has not been claimed publicly. It is a vast expanse of virgin land.
The coal seams of Erdus are easy to explore, usually near the surface so coal can even be produced by surface mining. The area's small proportion of gas content means few accidents from explosions.
In addition, "leakage and landslides hardly happen because of the good hydro-geological condition", an official from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region's Coal Geology Bureau says.
Domestic coal mining giant Shenhua Group and many smaller energy enterprises have now entered the region to get a share of the energy source.
Shenhua Group is the largest coal producer in China. Its core coal company, Shendong Coal Co, based in Erdus, accounts for 80 percent of the group's coal output.
Shendong Coal Co had total assets of 23.3 billion yuan, with 102 million tons of annual raw coal mined, at the end of 2005, Coal output in Erdus from other coal companies was 85.71 million tons in 2006, while Shenhua Group produced 75.92 billion tons.
