A coal-mine blaze that has raged for more than a century in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is due to be extinguished by the end of the year.

Some 1.7 million tons of coal are lost every year in the underground fire at the Liuhuanggou Coal Mine, 40 kilometres southwest of the regional capital Urumqi.

There are a total of 35 coal-mine fires in Xinjiang, which are scheduled to be completely put out by 2020.

The work started in 2000 "as the first step in our all-Xinjiang fire-protection project," said Cai Zhongyong, chief engineer in charge of fire control at Liuhuanggou.

"We would have just finished our work at Liuhuanggou if it was not for the sudden change of weather."

Due to the flooding of the region's Tuotuo River caused by continuous heavy rain, water pumps could not be used. The water pumps are used to power drilling machines that inject water and mud into the earth to lower the coal's temperature and to keep it away from oxygen.

The paths used to transport materials also became muddy and slippery. "Everyone is worried about the project lagging behind," said Cai.

However, he said he was confident that the fire would be extinguished as scheduled by the end of this year, as the government demanded.

But "given the extremely bad weather, ensuring the safety of our people should be our first task."

Cai said there was still plenty of time left, with 14 of the 18 subsidiary fires in the Liuhuanggou Coal Mine already put out.

Cai said that a total of 98.7 million yuan (US$11.9 million) has been spent on the project, with 90 million yuan (US$10.9 million) coming directly from the central government.

In any one year, more than 300 people are devoted to fighting the fire, he said.

The fire greatly harms the environment as well as causing economic losses, said Cai.

The blaze sends a large amount of poisonous gas into the sky every year. Some 2.2 million square metres of grassland have already been destroyed by the fire, greatly damaging Xinjiang's cattle-breeding industry.

In addition, the ground could collapse very easily once the coal underneath has been burnt away, he added. Even when the fire in Liuhuanggou is extinguished, it will still not be safe to mine there, Cai warned.

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