China builds train link to 'sea of death'

Beijing, July 23 (IANS) China has finished constructing a railway link to a lake that is known as the "sea of death" due to its high salt content, a media report said.

The railway link is now up to Lop Nur, a dry lake in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The construction of the railway line, which stretches from Hami prefecture to Lop Nur, started two years ago with an investment of 3 billion yuan ($476 million), reported Shanghai Daily.

Lop Nur is an area that has some 500 million tonnes of potassium salt.

China consumes over 10 million tonnes of potassium salt each year, 70 percent of which is imported.

The lake also has large reserves of non-ferrous metals, including nickel, gold and copper.