Yuyang Zhongneng Yuandatan Mining Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China's leading coal producer Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group, has gained approval from Shaanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission to expand the production capacity of its Yuandatan coal mine to 10 million tonnes/year lately, up from the previous 8 million t/y, according to a recent announcement on the commission's website.
This marks the third time that Yuandatan coal mine's approved capacity has been lifted since its initial operation in March 2021, leading its capacity to double the original 5 million t/y in only four years, Mysteel Global notes.
Located in Shaanxi's Yulin city and at the southeastern edge of the Mu Us desert in Inner Mongolia, the underground mine boasts geological reserves of 1.19 billion tonnes and a designed recoverable reserve of 550 million tonnes, according to the public information.
As one of the major coal mines of Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group, Yuandatan mine primarily produces thermal coal with various calorific values, which could be used for electricity generation, manufacturing chemical products as well as cement, Mysteel Global has learned.
The mine's newly approved capacity is expected to further boost thermal coal mining in Shaanxi, China's third-largest coal-producing province. In 2024, the province has added a total of 32.05 million t/y of coal production capacity, local media reported.
Last year, Shaanxi churned out 780 million tonnes of raw coal, higher by 2% from the year-ago level, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.