SW China province discovers first large concealed coal deposits

A coal prospecting company found a large concealed coal field with total reserves of 250 million tons and an area of 36 square kilometers in Qianxi County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, the company said Friday.

The coal field is the first of its kind found in Guizhou since most are located in northern part of the country, according to the Guizhou Xineng Coal Prospecting and Developing Co. Ltd.

Further exploration of the field is underway, said engineers and technicians from the company. They inferred that the area of coal field could reach 100 square kilometers.

Guizhou has available workable coal reserves of 53 billion tons.

Experts said the new discovery indicated that Guizhou may have more concealed coal deposits, which need more scientific prospecting and analysis.