November 22, 2007 -- Mine owners from Shanxi Province are looking into investment opportunities worth 40 million yuan (US$5.3 million) in Xinjiang Province, reported China Business News.

This is due to the decrease in coal resources and stricter rules imposed on coal mining activities in Shanxi Province, reported China Business News. After decades of large scale coal mining in Shanxi, the province has been struck by a decline in its coal reserves. It is estimated that Shanxi can afford only 76 years of continued mining, calculated on a 350 million ton capacity per year. In contrast, Xinjiang has a total coal resources estimated at 2,190 billion tons, the highest in China.

The production of crude coal was 35.48 million tons and 39.35 million tons in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Production in the period from January to July 2007 touched 24.73 million tons. It is estimated that the total production of crude coal for the entire year will exceed 40 million tons, reported China Business News.