New Climate Action! Pakistan's Plan To Mine 3.8 Million Tons/Year Of Lignite Coal

[hatrack]

ONDON, 19 January, 2016 – Till now, Pakistan has not used the bulk of its coal reserves – some of the largest in the world – for power generation. Not any more. Within the last month the government in Islamabad has signed a number of financial and technological agreements with China aimed at exploiting massive coal reserves at the Tharparkar mine in Sindh province, in the south of the country.

Under the terms of the agreements, 3.8 million tonnes of coal will be produced each year at the Tharparkar open-cast mine to fuel a 660MW power plant and other facilities.

The estimated cost of the project is US$2bn: China’s banks and private companies will supply US$1.5 billion in loans, while Pakistan will contribute US$500 m in both private and public finance.

High risk

Scientists say the mining and burning of coal is one of the main drivers of climate change from human causes. The coal at Tharparkar is mainly lignite – one of the least energy-intensive and most polluting types of coal. Pakistan is thought to be one of the countries most at risk from climate change: in recent years it has endured a number of floods and droughts, and in the summer of 2015 more than 1,200 people died in a searing heatwave.

EDIT

http://climatenewsnetwork.net/pakistan-turns-to-coal-to-keep-factories-running/

[pscot]

1. Winning

[hatrack]

2. . . .

[NickB79]

3. Pakistan HAD substantial natural gas reserves

In order to reduce oil imports in the 1970's, they tapped them and had most of the nation's cars converted to run on LNG instead of gasoline or diesel. Short-term, it was a great plan, except they were also heavily dependent upon natural gas for electricity generation. Hydropower was able to stretch the gas reserves, but finally the natural gas fields went into terminal decline.