China's top economic planner says that more small coal mines will
be shut down because of their impact on resources and the
environment, or because they fail to comply with the country's
industrial policy.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) reiterated
in a circular issued on Monday that it would close down 4,000 small
coal mines by the end of the year. It said it would focus not only
on illegal coal mines with poor safety facilities but on all small
coal mines.
The process will be bottom-up, starting in the coal-producing
towns themselves, said the commission.
It asked local governments to examine all coal mines with a
production capacity of less than 300,000 tons and decide what to do
with them.
The country aims to reduce its number of small coal mines to
10,000 by 2010.
The commission said coal mines with a production capacity of
less than 300,000 tons would no longer get building permits and
ongoing small projects would be integrated with other coal mines
where possible, expanded if conditions permit, or halted.
China had shut down a total of 2,392 small coal mines by the end
of March in efforts to clean up and professionalize its deadly coal
mining sector.
(Xinhua News Agency May 1, 2007)
