China's landmark deep-Earth borehole drilling exceeds 10,000 meters

URUMQI, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The drilling of a superdeep borehole in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region exceeded 10,000 meters on Monday afternoon, marking a breakthrough in the country's deep-Earth exploration.

Located in the hinterland of the Taklimakan Desert in the Tarim Basin, the "Shenditake 1" is expected to reach a designed depth of 11,100 meters upon completion. It is China's first scientific exploration borehole designed to exceed a depth of 10,000 meters.■