The Kaiping Mines (开平煤矿 "Kaiping Coal Mine") was one of the first modern mining companies in

Zhili Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...

, China. It was founded by

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...

and production began in 1881. During this period of the mines (1881-1912) at times the annual coal production reached 1,400,000 tons. One of the principals was Zhou Xuexi and the chief engineer was

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

. During the course of the Boxer Rebellion, to protect them from foreign occupation, and with the cooperation of Hoover and British financial interests, the mines passed to the Anglo-Belgian Chinese Engineering & Mining Company. The

Luanzhou Luanzhou (), formerly Luan County (), is a county-level city in the east of Hebei province, China. It is under the administration of the Tangshan city. Administrative divisions Subdistricts: * Luanhe Subdistrict (), Gucheng Subdistrict Gucheng, f ...

(Lanchou, Lanchow) Mining Company was formed in 1908 under

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...

to pressure the British to come to terms and return the mines to Chinese control. However the Chinese Engineering & Mining Company emerged on top during the ensuing price war and in 1912 the two companies would agree to the formation of the Kailan (Kailuan) Mining Administration to manage the mines on behalf of both companies. The Kailan Mines were seen by Matsunaga Yasuzaemon in 1918. Today it's called

Kailuan Group The Kailuan (Group) Co., Ltd. () is a major Chinese coal mining company. Chinese Engineering and Mining Company was its predecessor. In 2009, Kailuan Group planned to build a coal reserve base on the northeast coast to store 50 million tonnes of ...

References

{{Portal, China, Energy, Companies Coal companies of China Non-renewable resource companies established in 1877 Companies based in Tianjin Defunct manufacturing companies of China Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 1912 1912 disestablishments in China Chinese companies established in 1877