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known at present, the coals of Szechuan and Yunnan are all of poor quality, and would not pay for transportation to the coast.
The considerable coal areas of Kiangsi and Hunan are better situated and may be brought into activity by the completion of the Canton-Hankow Railway. Favourable reports on the deposits have been made by prospectors on the railway.
147. The phenomenal development of the Fushun mines, has led to the erroneous idea that Manchuria may possess great coal resources. Fushun is certainly a unique coalfield, possessing 1,000 million tons of available coal in an area of 10 square miles, as well as much valuable oil shale. The whole of the rest of South Manchuria, however, which has now been thoroughly surveyed, appears to contain only about as much coal as Fushun itself, while in North Manchuria, which is not yet properly explored, the in- dications are even less hopeful. Manchuria, in fact, after the S.E. coastal provinces, is probably the section of China which is poorest in coal. The Fushun deposits will be worked out at the present rate of production in 80 years, and any extensive in- dustrial developments outside the Japanese sphere of influence would involve a similar fate for the remaining deposits.
148. China's available iron ore is estimated at about 1,000 million tons, but 70 per cent. of this is in Manchuria, chiefly in the Japanese sphere, and China proper must be regarded as very poor in iron ores. The two most important iron ore fields are the Yangtse Valley, and the Peiping (Peking) district. is as badly off for iron as it is for coal.
EXPLOITATION.
S.E. China
149. Naturally, the exploitation of China's coalfields has been dependent on railway construction, although some mines in the interior continue to be worked by primitive methods, and the coal transported by camels. This is particularly the case with the more remote parts of the Chihli coalfield, from which considerable quantities of coal are sent to Peiping (Peking) by camel transport. For the whole of China the highest production of coal yet reached was 25,780,000 tons in 1924, of which about 6,057,000 tons were from the Japanese Railway Zone in South Manchuria. Since then, production has declined owing to civil wars.
150. The Fushun Mine, controlled by the South Manchurian Railway Company, has an output of 7 million tons per annum. Over half of this comes from a great open cut working, the largest The remainder comes from working of this nature in the world. coal pits drawing from the Eastern end of the field.
The coal has low ash content but is high in volatile constituents and moisture. It has good calorific value but requires a specially designed boiler for most efficient working. Only a small proportion of the coal won is suitable for coking and that only by blending with
other coal.
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The bulk of the output is shipped through Dairen.
A big coaling pier with up-to-date mechanical loading has recently been installed. It is based on the system in use at Norfolk, Virginia. There are four loaders of 600 ton capacity to which the coal is brought in special 60 ton trucks. The coal is widely dis- tributed in Japan and China, not only for ship use but also for industrial power. The Shanghai Power Company for instance is a large consumer.
The shale which overlies the open cut working is oil bearing. The oil content is not high but has justified the installation of a fine plant on the Scotch principle to produce about 200 tons of crude oil daily.
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151. Other Manchurian Mines are Pensihu and Yentai, both near Fushun. The former is important as the supplier of coke for the Anshan Iron Works of the South Manchurian Railway.
The Chinese have a mine in South Manchuria at Peipiao and, in North Manchuria, mines at Mulin and Hokwan, each with an output of 300,000 tons per annum, and smaller mines at Haigan and Jalinor.
152. The Kailan Mining Administration at Tangshan, Chihli, the production of which is over 5,000,000 tons yearly, is on the Peking-Mukden line, near the port of Chinwangtau. This con- cern has by far the largest share of China's coal trade, and comes next to Fushun in the export and bunker trade. Its coal is dis- tributed not only all over North China but by sea to Shanghai, and up the lower Yangtse. It is steadily increasing its sales in Shanghai itself. In addition to the advantage of fine equipment and administration of their workings, both Fushun and Kailan have the benefit of able organisations for distribution. Their coaling stations and coaling wharves are admirably equipped, their vehicles are economically used, and their market both for wholesalers and retailers is systematically exploited.
153. The Tsuchuan Mine, at Poshan, Shantung, which pro- duced 800,000 tons of coal in 1926 has, as well as the local market in Shantung, an export trade partly to Japan and partly to China ports. There is also a bunker trade at Tsingtau, and the company has an iron works, smelting local ore, of which, however, the re- serve is small. The iron is taken by Japan, which has an interest in the company.
154. The Chunghsing Mine, at Ihsien, Shantung, on the Tient- sin-Pukow railway, with an output of 795,000 tons (1924), supplies the railway, and to an increasing extent, the middle and lower Yangtse Valley. The Company is purely Chinese.
155. The group of collieries along the Peiping (Peking)-Hankow railway, on the south-western borders of Shansi comprise the biggest coal-producing district. Notable among them are:
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