Shenhua Group Wins Approval to Build China Coal Mine

By Wang Ying

Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Shenhua Group Corp., China's largest coal producer, won government approval to develop a northern coal mine with annual capacity of 10 million metric tons as the nation seeks to bolster output of the fuel.

Hong Kong-listed China Shenhua Energy Co.'s parent has proven about 3 billion tons of coal reserves at the Tarangaole mine in Inner Mongolia, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said in a statement on its Web site today. The project was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, it said.

``The coal's quality is good, with low sulfur, low phosphorus and high calorific value,'' the Beijing-based commission said in the statement. The mine has an estimated lifespan of more than 95 years, it said.

The country mothballed almost 3 percent of its coal-fired generating capacity as of July 25 because of shortages of the fuel, the State Grid Corp. of China said. The nation will increase production at large mines to improve supplies in the second half of this year, Wang Dexue, vice minister of the State Administration of Work Safety, said Aug. 9.

To contact the reporter on this story: Wang Ying in Beijing at ywang30@bloomberg.net.