China invests in coal exploration

China, the world’s biggest coal producer and consumer, plans to spend about 40 billion yuan (US$5 billion) by 2020 exploring for coal reserves across the nation, a top energy official said.

The country aims to secure about 170 billion tons of coal reserves, Xu Dingming, head of the energy bureau under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said.

“The budget will be used between 2003 and 2020 to boost the nation’s coal resources,” said Xu, but he declined to disclose how much the country has spent up to now.
People’s Daily