Coal Mining: Next Home Based Business Model

A Chinese man is facing a trial over claims he dug a tunnel from his house to an abandoned coal mine.

Police in Beijing city say they found the secret operation during a routine door-to-door search for migrants.

“We heard loud factory machine noises from the house. Upon entering the yard, we found a lot of coal-mining tools, and several huge piles of coal,” says a police spokesman.

After a search of the premises, police found an opening in the garage to a tunnel which connected to an abandoned coal mine nearby, reports the Beijing Times.

The tenant of the house, Mr. Song, allegedly admitted that he rented the house because it was only 10 metres from the old mine.

Police say the tunnel extended more than 100 metres, and that Song mined more than 1,300 tonnes of coal without a licence.

By Sirius on 16-05-2007