Shandong Energy Group has obtained a mining licence for its Yingjun No.3 coal mine in Inner Mongolia, completing all core mining approvals for the project.

The mine, with a planned annual production capacity of 6 million tonnes and a mining area of 35.75 square km, involves total investment of 5.684 billion yuan. It ranks among key modern mines under construction in the Shanghaimiao mining area.

Once operational, the project will expand high-quality coal capacity and support the energy base development of the Shanghaimiao mining area, strengthening the regional energy supply in Ordos.

The Shanghaimiao mining area, located in Otog Front Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, was first approved in 2007 and revised in 2013. After over a decade of development, significant changes to the approved scope, mine field divisions, exploration levels and construction scale prompted Ordos Energy Bureau to restart the overall planning revision in 2024, with the first public participation notice issued in November that year.

According to the notice, the planned mining area spans approximately 1,157.61 square km, stretching 5-33 km east-west and 40-65 km north-south.

The area plans a total scale of 70.60 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) across 15 mine fields, including one existing production mine, four mines under construction, four planned expansions and six new mines. The Yingjun No.3 mine field is planned at 6.0 Mtpa.

The plan also includes 14 coal preparation plants, comprising 13 mine-based plants and one central plant, with a 100% raw coal washing rate.

The notice noted favourable external construction conditions and clear target markets for the mining area, recommending accelerated development to leverage resource and large-scale mine advantages.

The Shanghaimiao mining area is undergoing a new round of planning revision, with the latest environmental assessment review completed in April 2026. Local authorities said the revision will seize opportunities in national energy security, modern energy system development, intelligent and green growth, advancing a million-tonne coal chemical industry chain project to build a world-class modern coal chemical industrial base.