Huaihe Energy Holding Group has started construction of the Shitoumei No.2 coal mine in the Santanghu mining area of Hami, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The mine, built by Balikun Fengxin Mining Co., Ltd., involves a total investment of 9.5 billion yuan. It has a designed area of 68.04 square kilometers and an annual raw coal capacity of 8 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), with a similarly sized intelligent coal preparation plant. Production is expected to begin by the end of 2029, with a service life of 70 years. The project uses advanced vertical shaft development and is built to green, smart, modern mine standards, making it a benchmark for industrial upgrading in the Santanghu mining area.

Balikun Fengxin Mining is a joint venture controlled by Huaihe Energy and co-founded by Xinjiang New Investment Group, serving as a flagship platform for Anhui-Xinjiang energy cooperation.

The Shitoumei No.2 mine is the first ultra-large coal mine project to start construction in Xinjiang during the 15th "Five-Year Plan" period and is also Huaihe Energy's first key energy project under construction in the region. Once operational, it will support Hami's development as a national-level modern comprehensive energy industrialization demonstration base.

The Santanghu mining area boasts superior coal resources, with coal characterized by low ash, low sulfur and high calorific value, making it a rare high-quality thermal coal and coal chemical feedstock in China.

The construction of Shitoumei No.2 will address the capacity shortfall in intelligent underground mining in the area. The project emphasizes simultaneous development and protection, with supporting environmental facilities for mine water utilization, ecological restoration and gas control. After commissioning, it will form a coordinated "open-pit and underground" mining model with the Shitoumei No.1 open-pit mine, creating complementary capacity and shared resources to optimize the mining area's capacity structure and strengthen Hami's strategic role as a core hub for Xinjiang coal outbound transport and a key pillar for western energy supply.

In recent years, Huaihe Energy has been implementing a new energy security strategy, focusing on consolidating coal, electricity and gas, expanding new energy, and deploying capital. It is now one of China's 14 100-million-tonne coal bases and six large coal-power bases, and has the largest coal production capacity and power installation scale in Anhui province. Xinjiang serves as the national strategic energy resource base, with Hami as the core hub for coal and power outbound transport and a leader in new energy development. Huaihe Energy is actively aligning with the westward shift of China's coal development strategy and engaging in Xinjiang's energy construction.

Balikun Fengxin Mining is currently developing two major projects in the Hami Santanghu mining area: Shitoumei No.2 and Tiaohu No.7, with total resources of about 1.69 billion tonnes. The start of Shitoumei No.2 marks the transition of its western resource expansion from planning to substantive construction. Tiaohu No.7, a supporting key project with a designed capacity of 4 Mtpa, has already obtained its mining rights and mining permits.

Shitoumei No.1 open-pit mine has resources of 3.58 billion tonnes over an area of 102.75 square kilometers, with its designed capacity rapidly increasing from 5 Mtpa in 2020 to 35 Mtpa in 2024.

The Santanghu mining area is one of the main mining zones of the Tuha coalfield in Xinjiang's large coal base, located in the Santanghu Basin within Balikun Kazakh autonomous county, Hami. After revision, the mining area covers about 2,239 square kilometers, with predicted and proven coal resources exceeding 100 billion tonnes. The planned total construction scale is 136 Mtpa, making it a key development area for the strategic outbound transport of Xinjiang coal and power.