> Investing in Coal-To-Oil Project:
> In February, the Chinese government approved
> the one million ton coal-to-oil (CTO) project of
> Yankuang Group, parent company of Yanzhou
> Coal Mining Co., Ltd. This is the first indirect
> coal liquefaction demo project with independent
> intellectual property in China. The plant will be
> located in Yulin, Shaanxi province and the
> Yankuang Group plans to invest RMB13.45
> billion. The plant will be an environment-friendly
> project with RMB650 million, or 4.81 percent of
> the total costs earmarked to make it conform to
> green standards. The CTO project is expected to
> achieve an annual indirect coal liquefaction
> production capacity of 1 million tons, including
> 780,800 tons of diesel, 258,400 tons of naphtha,
> 56,480 tons of LPG, and other secondary
> products such as sulfur, nitrate, liquid argon, and
> gypsum. The scheme will be a significant step in
> developing alternative energy sources and
> achieving a sustainable supply of oil and gas for
> China.

> Technology Fuels Growth:
> Yanzhou Coal Mining Co’s raw coal output has
> increased over the years, thanks to technology.
> The firm extensively uses the “top coal caving
> method”, a coal seam mining technology which
> allows thick coal seam ranging from 8-12 meters
> to be excavated in a single stretch until all
> retrievable coal is collected and waste rocks
> appears. Further, the method is cost effective as
> it does not require expensive steel nets for the
> mine roof. Moreover, the top coal caving mining
> method increases productivity at its mines to
> 17.87 tons per mine worker, which is 4.39 times
> more than the average level of mine efficiency in
> any major state-owned coal mine. The technology
> has improved mine safety also. The company’s
> mortality rate per million tons is at the same
> levels seen in the U.S. mines.