IS THIS, finally, the end for the gigantic coal fires that have been burning in Inner Mongolia, China, for 50 years?
The province’s government announced earlier this month that it would spend 200 million yuan ($29.4 million) a year through to 2012 on extinguishing over 60 fires that burn, unchecked, at seven of its coalfields.
The fires can be ignited naturally by lightning or forest fires but more often are lit by sparks from mining equipment or burning waste. Some are at the surface, but they can also burn below ground, making them hard to spot and control. The fires…
