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Harbin to ban use of Inner Mongolian coal for winter heating

Harbin, the capital city of northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province, has announced to shut out Inner Mongolian coal for heating this winter, said the municipal government in a document released on August 28.

Large volumes of cheap inferior coal from neighboring Inner Mongolia flowed into Harbin last year, taking market shares of locally-produced coal, which was nearly 300 yuan/t higher, while being blamed for causing smog to the city.

The price of Harbin’s locally-produced coal – mainly produced by Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Group, averaged 600 yuan/t last winter, compared with 300 yuan/t of Inner Mongolian coal – mostly lignite with lower calorific value – on a delivered basis with freight included.

Inner Mongolian coal, mined through opencast operations, has a lower production cost, but its calorific value was much lower, which means the city needs to burn more this material, aggravating air pollution in this city.

Actually, the transport distance of Inner Mongolian coal to Harbin is as long as 700 km, exceeding the government’s 600km limit for long-haul transportation of commercial coal, said one senior official with the municipal government.

“Only Longmay Mining Group’s coal products are within the 600km scope, so Harbin would only use coal from the group in this winter,” said the official.

source: http://en.sxcoal.com