Queergou coal field (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region)

Queergou coal field is located 100 km to the W of Urumqui on the northern side of the Tian Mountains in an alpine environment.

Queergou Coal Fire Area is located in Hutubi County, Xinjiang, where the forest resources are under best protection, and the progress of coal fire is the biggest threatening to local eco-environment and tourist industry. The fire area and its surrounding areas are the energy base for Hutubi County, Manasi County, and Changji City. There are about 40 coalmines, state or collectively owned by the townships, with total production of near one million tones. The expansion of the fire area has certainly threatened the energy base. The increasingly spreading coal fire not only wastes the precious coal resources but also potentially ignite large-scale forest fire at any moment.

Queergou Coal Fire Area is situated at the west side of Xigou River, 78km southwestward from Hutubi County Town, and in administration belongs to Hutubi County. The elevation there is 1670～2080m and the difference of elevation is around 300m, and the topography is strongly fractured. The climate there belongs to continental arid in mild temperate zone. Because of situated on the north slope of Tianshan Mountain and relatively humid climate, there are coniferous forest broadly distributed throughout both west and east sides of the fire area. The annual average air temperature is 6℃, and average air temperature in July is 22.2℃, maximally 36.4℃. Queergou Coal Fire Area is mostly distributed in the center of the coalfield, and the coal seams on both west and east sides of Xigou River are almost burned. The fire is stronger on the west side than the east, and the most burned areas are covered by forest.

A. Queergou Coal Fire Area has a long burning history, and all the coal seams in the situated coalfield have been burned on the ground. The fire area is subdivided into three fire zones, eastern, western and southern, with a total area of 75,210m2.

B. Eastern Fire Zone is on the east side of Xigou River, covers an area of 15,183.97m2, where is very steep. The maximal ground temperature there is 206℃, with smoking phenomenon and the air temperature at the smoking spots is 62℃. The burning seams is B2 whose net thickness is 8.17 to 13.46m and 7.27m in average, regarded as thick seams.

C. Western Fire Zone is situated on the middle of a very steep slope on the west side of Xigou River, covers an area of 12,629.19m2. The maximal ground temperature there is 181℃, with flaming phenomenon on the near vertical steep and smoking phenomenon on the upper part. The burning depth is 16-35m. The ground surface within the fire zone has been burned. The burning seams is B2 whose net thickness is 8.17－13.46m and 7.27m in average, regarded as thick seams with 1－3 embedded rock layers but the structure is simple and seams are stable, and the distance between B3 is 45.23－84.46m and 59.45m in average.

D. Southern Fire Zone is situated on the middle of a very steep slope on the southern part of the area, covers an area of 8,614.4m2. The ground surface has been burned within the fire zone. The burning seams is B1 whose net thickness is 6.26－8.05m and 10.56m in average, regarded as thick seams also, without embedded rock layers, and the structure is simple and seams are stable, dipping at approx. ∠17° from east to west. There are land subsidence phenomenon on the east part where the ground temperature as high as 273℃, and steaming phenomenon in the middle part. The anticipated fire fighting project will apply integrated technology consisting sequenced steps of ground stripping and leveling, drilling, water injection, mud injection, and ground covering with loess.