From Xinhuanet (link)
China will close all small coal mines with annual production capacity under 30,000 tons by the end of 2007, the national coal mine safety authority said.
At a video-conference on work safety held Monday, Zhao Tiechui, director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, said China will step up rectification of the coal mining sector to improve work safety.
A relevant notice on the rectification has been circulated to local governments, said Zhao, adding that the rectification aims to encourage large coal mining firms to merge with smaller ones asgiant ones usually pay more attention to work safety.
