(Yicai Global) Nov. 4 -- The resource-rich Chinese Heilongjiang province's first open-pit colliery with an expected annual capacity of more than 10 million tons has started trial operation after a prolonged construction period of about four years.

Shenhua Guoneng Baoqing Coal Electrochemical, a unit of state-owned coal giant Shenhua Group, has completed the first phase of the CNY30 billion (USD4.3 billion) project that is laced with a power station in the county of Baoqing, Xinhua News Agency reported. The annual output is expected to be 11 million tons.

In 2017, China started reducing coal power generation by halting some plans of new coal-burning units, including the above-mentioned project in the northeastern province which has estimated reserves of nearly 10.5 billion tons of coal.

The site in Baoqing has proven reserves of 800 million tons of lignite and based on the designated capacity, it can be mined for 80 years. The first phase included two sets of 600-megawatt coal-based thermal power units and a supporting coal-to-chemical project.

The second phase will expand the capacity to 15 million tons per year, add two 1,000-MW thermal power units, and churn out humic acid and lignite wax as by-products. Once finished, the mine is expected to provide 5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year to Heilongjiang and neighboring provinces.

Editor: Emmi Laine