TAIYUAN, China – Shanxi Coking Coal Group, a state-owned coking coal company, is partnering with Shuanghui Group in a pork processing venture in an effort to diversify the company’s business portfolio, according to local news reports.

Shanxi Coking Coal and Shuanghui Group, a large meat processing company in China, signed an agreement to build a slaughtering and processing plant in three phases over one year at a cost of $158 million. The project will include a butchering and pork processing unit expected to generate $474 million to $632 million in revenues annually. The plant is projected to process 2 million pigs annually, according to reports.

The partnership is one example of coal companies in China that are diversifying their businesses. Non-coal businesses accounted for 59 percent of revenues for the Shanxi coal companies, according to China Daily USA.