The Chukotka autonomous district in Russia's Far East will become the first region in the country to implement an underground coal gasification project, a regional government representative said Tuesday.
Specialists from Clean Energy, a subsidiary of Australian company Linc Energy, who inspected coal deposits in the region, concluded that the technology for underground coal gasification could be used in Chukotka to revive the otherwise loss-making local coal deposits, the company's president, Adam Bond, said at a presentation for the regional administration.
Georgy Alexandrov, head of Yakut Minerals, the Australian company's local partner, said at least two local coal mines satisfied the preliminary conditions for the implementation of the new technology.
The local authorities will provide assistance for the project.