There had been rumors of the availability of coal in the Keelung region as early as the Dutch occupation period. But it was only in 1847, with the rediscovery of coal mines near Keelung by a Briton, that the area's mining production began to draw the attention of the imperial court and the international Community.
基隆產煤，早在荷蘭人據台時代就有流傳，不過直到一八四七年，英國人重新發現了基隆煤礦後，這個礦產才受到清廷和國際矚目。