China shut down 2,411 coal mines across the country this year due to safety problems, the nation's top safety supervisor announced yesterday.
The State Administration of Coal Mine Work Safety announced the names of 1,044 closed coal mines yesterday.
Among these closed mines, 59 were in Beijing, 125 in Hebei Province, 386 in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 70 in Jiangxi Province, 58 in Hubei Province, and 135 in Sichuan Province.
According to regulations on coal mine work safety issued by the State Council, the Chinese Cabinet, coal mines that fail to get safety licenses within a certain period must stop production. If they don't pass a safety check later, the mines should be shut down.
By December 19, 12,990 coal mines were ordered to stop production due to safety problems and 2,411 of them have been closed down, said sources with the administration.
In recent years, the Chinese government has adopted a series of regulations and measures to improve coal mine safety.
But the situation remains grave, as 4,228 people were killed in 2,337 coal mine accidents from January to September.
Starting on January 1, all coal mines must put down a cash deposit as a safety guarantee to be used as emergency funds in the event of an accident.
Mines with annual production of 30,000 tons or less should deposit 600,000 yuan (US$74,000) to 1 million yuan, said sources with the State Administration of Work Safety.
Mines producing 30,000 to 90,000 tons of coal every year must put 1.5 million yuan to 2 million yuan in their safety account, said the sources, adding that the ceiling of such "safety deposits" is 6 million yuan.
Coal is a major energy resource in China, accounting for 67 percent of the country's total consumption of primary energy resources.
(Xinhua)