China to shut 4,000 coal mines in 2007-safety head
Source: Reuters
BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) - China plans to this year shut down 4,000 inefficient and dangerous coal mines with combined annual capacity of about 100 million tonnes, the head of the State Administration of Work Safety said on Monday. Li Yizhong, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of China's national parliament meeting, said half of this year's closure goal -- or 2,000 mines with minimum capacity of about 30,000 tonnes per year -- have already been closed. "We will shut more dangerous and polluting coal mines this year according to government regulations," Li said. In his speech to the opening session of parliament, Premier Wen Jiabao said China in 2006 had targeted surplus production capacity in some industries for closure. "We closed down backward coal production facilities totalling 110 million tonnes in capacity...," Wen told delegates. China's mining industry, the world's most deadly, has drawn global attention as fatal accidents occur almost daily. Officials acknowledge that safety regulations are often ignored by mine owners and production is pushed beyond safe limits in the rush for profits. To address the problem, China has sought to close dangerous and polluting mines, but many are reopened and operate illegally as China's energy demand has soared to feed its robust economy. From 2005 to the end of 2007, China will have closed a total of 10,000 small coal mines, Li said.
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