Pakistan Thar Coalfield Goes into Operation
On June 21, 2018, the open-pit lignite mine project of Thar Coalfield Block II in Pakistan started coal mining, marking a new milestone. As the EPC contractor, CMEC is responsible for project design, construction, equipment procurement and other aspects of work, and plans to complete the construction of the lignite mine project with an annual capacity of 3.8 million tons within 41 months after the commencement of construction of the project.
The Thar Coalfield is the world’s seventh largest coalfield. Block II is the first and also an exemplary block of commercial development. The Thar Coalfield, the first open-pit coal mine project in Pakistan, is also the first investment-driven EPC project of CMEC. Its smooth implementation is not only of great significance to CMEC’s operations in Pakistan, but also will give an impetus to the economic interactions between the two countries.
Since the construction started on April 13, 2016, the project team has overcome all kinds of difficulties, and completed the task five months ahead of schedule when the first layer of coal at Thar Coalfield Block II, at a depth of 140 meters below the surface, was unearthed on June 21. In doing so, they kept water gushing out of the second aquifer under control, and removed 86 million cubic meters of earth.
