ID :
12169
Fri, 07/11/2008 - 12:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/12169
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China to close down 4,000 small coal mines
Beijing, Jul 11 (PTI) China will shut down more than 4,000 small coal mines and slash their number to below 10,000 by 2010, to bring down deaths in mine-related accidents,officials have said.
The country has about 16,000 coal mines, 90 percent of them small, whose safety record is far worse than largeoperations, they said.
For each one million tonne of coal produced, the death toll at small mines is eight times more than in largestate-owned mines, they added.
"The large number of small coal mines remain a threat to production safety," Zhao Tiechui, head of State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhuanews agency.
At a meeting on treating coal mine gas in Shenyang, the capital of northeast China's Liaoning province, he asked coal-rich provinces, regions and municipalities to close more of the small mines and "make sure they stay closed" whilefostering larger mines.
China's mining industry has earned the dubious distinction of being the deadliest in the world with deaths of some 3,800 workers reported in accidents last year.Inadequatesafety measures are often cited as a major cause.
Authorities, however, maintain that the incidence has come down, thanks to a raft of measures, including crackdownon mines flouting safety rules.
About 2,500 lives could have been spared, if safety control measures at small coal mines were as strict as at large state-owned ones, Zhang Guobao, Deputy Head of NationalDevelopment and Reform Commission, said.
Among 16,000 mines nationwide, about 90 percent were small -- with an annual capacity below 300,000 tonnes -- where safety controls were usually lax, Zhang said. PTI
The country has about 16,000 coal mines, 90 percent of them small, whose safety record is far worse than largeoperations, they said.
For each one million tonne of coal produced, the death toll at small mines is eight times more than in largestate-owned mines, they added.
"The large number of small coal mines remain a threat to production safety," Zhao Tiechui, head of State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhuanews agency.
At a meeting on treating coal mine gas in Shenyang, the capital of northeast China's Liaoning province, he asked coal-rich provinces, regions and municipalities to close more of the small mines and "make sure they stay closed" whilefostering larger mines.
China's mining industry has earned the dubious distinction of being the deadliest in the world with deaths of some 3,800 workers reported in accidents last year.Inadequatesafety measures are often cited as a major cause.
Authorities, however, maintain that the incidence has come down, thanks to a raft of measures, including crackdownon mines flouting safety rules.
About 2,500 lives could have been spared, if safety control measures at small coal mines were as strict as at large state-owned ones, Zhang Guobao, Deputy Head of NationalDevelopment and Reform Commission, said.
Among 16,000 mines nationwide, about 90 percent were small -- with an annual capacity below 300,000 tonnes -- where safety controls were usually lax, Zhang said. PTI
