From AP:
China has closed more than 11,000 small coal mines as part of a two-year-old safety crackdown aimed at stemming the industry’s high death toll, the government reported Sunday.
The total of 11,155 represents 45 percent of all small mines slated for closure, according to a report on the central government’s official Web site. Reasons cited for closure include failure to obtain proper permits or safety equipment, causing undue damage to the environment, and exclusion from government economic plans
Small mines are responsible for most of the deaths in Chinese mining industry, which last year claimed 3,786 lives. The 2007 death toll marks a major improvement from the year before, but still leaves China’s mines as the world’s deadliest. [Full Text]
