The Xing An mine, located in the far northern region of Heilongjiang Province, produces high-quality thermal coal and was closed for maintenance and retrofit programs.
In December 2009, the company began a program to upgrade the mine to boost production at the site.
Operations at the mine will be transitioning from room-and-pillar mining to long wall mining upon completion of these modifications, and with these improvements, the mine will be able to process coal year round.
The company also projects that production will increase from 600,000 metric tons per year to 900,000 in 2012.
