Green coal resources in China: Concept, characteristics and assessment

Coal resources are the preponderant mineral resources in China. Correct understanding of the current situation of coal resources and realization of clean and efficient coal exploitation and utilization are vital to China's energy sustainable development. This paper attempts to reexamine China's coal resource conditions from new insights and puts forward the concept of green coal resources. Green coal resources can be defined as the coal resources related with a better resource endowment and relatively high economic competitiveness that can be exploited in a safety, high efficient and environment-friendly way under the condition of current advanced technologies and then can be suitable for realizing clean and high-efficiency utilization. The connotation and characteristics of green coal resource are further described. A technical evaluation frame was developed and then an overall evaluation for green coal resources in China was performed. The evaluation results indicate that China's total proved reserves of green coal resources amounts to about 973.365 billion tons, mainly present in the regions of Shanxi-Shaanxi-western Inner Mongolia-Ningxia and North Xinjiang on the basis of the "#-shaped" distribution. Meanwhile, the basic reserve and economically recoverable reserve of green coal resources are about 85.577 and 44.534 billion tons respectively. The geological work to improve prospecting and exploitation of green coal resources needs to be enhanced. Establishing a comprehensive coal exploitation and utilization pattern, which is based on the evaluation of green coal resources, will contribute to systematically planning of China's coal geological works, identifying strategy and layout of regional resource exploitation and achieving the sustianbale development of coal resources.