Leading Coal Mine Sees ProfitsJungar Coal Mine, China's largest coal development project in northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, raked in a profit of 1.4 million yuan (about US$170,000) last year.The loss-to-profit turn also put an end to a deficit of over 800 million yuan (about US$98 million) in the previous year. Located at the juncture of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Shaanxi and Hebei provinces in north China, Jungar Coal Mine has verified 26.8 billion tons in coal reserves, 6 billion tons of which are fit for opencast working. The first phase of the project started in 1990 and since then total investment has added up to 5 billion yuan (about US$605 million). However, the Jungar Coal Company suffered a deficit of 880 million yuan when the coal mine was formally put into production in 1999. The situation did not improve until China Cinda Asset Management Corporation carried out a debt-equity swap on the Jungar Coal Company last year, which helped the company reduce its debt, accelerate technical renovation and increase competitiveness. Cinda was founded April 20, 1999, and is responsible for the management of bad assets separated from China Construction Bank, one of four major commercial banks in China. Sources said the annual capacity of Jungar Coal Mine is targeted at 12 million tons in 2003. |
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