Huge coalfield discovered in China's Xinjiang

Apr 14, 2009 - AsiaPulse

A huge coalfield with a reserve of three billion tons has been discovered at Aiding Lake in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to the Xinjiang Bureau of Coal Geology.

The coal bed found at the country's lowest altitude lake is about 16 kilometers long, 10 kilometers wide and 10-22 meters deep.

The bureau started exploration in the lake area in February and found the coal reserve at the end of March.

It is suggested that more coal resources exist in areas around the lake. Upon completion of exploration, the total reserve in the region is expected to hit 27 billion tons.