China furthers uranium mine drilling depth

China's largest atomic energy developer said here Wednesday that it has achieved a record drilling depth of 2,818.88 meters in uranium mining, greatly advancing the country's uranium prospecting capability. China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) announced the technological breakthrough in uranium resource-rich Fuzhou City, in east China's Jiangxi Province. The company said in a statement that its drilling reached the new depth with a cutting section twice as big as an ordinary optical disk. China's uranium prospecting has typically been carried out at depths less than 500 meters. Its previous record drilling depth reached 1,200 meters. CNNC said the new drilling technology can help boost China's domestic uranium supplies and ensure the key energy source for developing nuclear power generation. In addition to the drilling depth, the company said it has independently developed a series of pieces of drilling equipment and hyperspectral identification technology to facilitate uranium exploration. The state-owned firm under direct management by the central government independently designed China's first nuclear power plant -- Qinshan nuclear power plant -- which operated safely for 22 years since it went into production in 1991.