China to lead Asia-Pacific coal mining
According to a report byGBI Research, China looks set to dominate the rapidly expanding Asian coal mining industry for at least the rest of the current decade.
The Asia-Pacific region is expected to reign supreme as the leading coal-producing region in the future, helped along by China’s impressive coal reserves.
The report states that China is Asia’s main coal-producing force being, not only being the largest coal-producing country in the Asia-Pacific region, but also the largest in the world.
The region’s coal industry comprises China, India, Australia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Vietnam and New Zealand. China contributed 68% towards the region’s total coal production in 2011. In contrast to China’s colossal production, 2011 saw India offer a 13% share of regional production, while Australia accounted for an 8.5% share and Indonesia made a 7.2% contribution.
The Asia-Pacific region is rich in coal deposits and has the largest amounts of coal reserves in the world. According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2011, the Asia-Pacific region had around 292.5 billion t of coal reserves, or 35% of the global coffers, at the end of 2010. During 2011, production reached an estimated 4866 million metric t, accounting for 65% of total global coal production in that year. Asia’s total dominance in the industry is emphasized by the fact that Europe, the second largest coal producer in 2011, accounted for a share of just 15%.
At 14%, China holds the most coal reserves in the region, the majority of these reserves are concentrated in the provinces of Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shandong, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia. With the abundance of coal deposits across several provinces in the country, China’s role as the world’s coal production giant is set to continue, with many planned exploration projects fixed for the next decade.
During this decade, Asia-Pacific’s coal production is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.1%, to reach approximately 7 billion t by 2020.
GBI Research’s report is available in full here.
Adapted from a press release by David Bizley
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/10052012/china_to_lead_asian_coal_mining/
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