BEIJING, Aug. 31 -- In the face of a rising death toll this year, China has ordered one-third of its coal mines to suspend production by the end of this year because they are unsafe.

Liang Zhangling, wife of a miner killed in a flooding accident on August 7 in Daxing coal mine in Xingning, Guangdong Province, receives 200,000 yuan (US$24,700) in compensation from government officials yesterday. The accident killed 123 miners. (Xinhua)

    Industry insiders said the suspension will leave a huge number of miners jobless, but coal supply will only be slightly affected because most of the pits involved are small.

    The State Administration of Coal Mine Safety publicized yesterday the first group of 1,324 mines that are required to stop production and meet national safety standards. If they do not, they will be shut down permanently.

    "The number is not all of the mines on the suspension list; the total will reach 7,000 soon," the administration's press officer, surnamed An, told China Daily.

    Administration figures indicated that China has about 24,000 coal mines, which satisfy 70 per cent of the country's annual energy demand. However, because of the transient nature of mining employment, no official statistics on the number of miners are available.

    An said the responsibility to monitor the suspensions and supervise the safety improvement of the 7,000 mines will fall on local governments. "The central government will soon unveil regulations which require provincial and local governments to play a key role in safeguarding coal mine safety," she said. "Otherwise, they will be severely punished."

    An said a new central government system for monitoring coal mines will be announced today, which includes detailed measures to prevent coal mine disasters.

    Some local governments and officials have been protecting poorly equipped coal mines, where accidents have claimed an average of 18 miners a day in the first six months of this year. In the United States and other developed countries, the annual death toll in coal mines is generally no higher than 40.

    Already the central government has attempted to eliminate questions of impropriety by requiring local government officials and leaders of the State-owned enterprises to withdraw their shares in collieries before September 22.

    Collusion between government officials and colliery owners worsens the work safety situation and makes it more difficult for work safety departments to address the problem.

    "The central government's decision to get tough on the collusion will make safety supervisors' work easier," said Li Wenge, safety director of Provincial Coal Industry Group of Shaanxi.

    He said the suspensions will affect many miners. "Those in private and small mines will lose their jobs and their families will become poorer."

    Li said he expected the average incomes of workers in State-owned mines to drop because these miners will have to give a portion of their extra incomes to the miners laid off by the suspensions.

    "I'm sure the coal supply will not be affected because many State-owned big mines have increased production capacities since last year," Li said.

    (Source: China Daily)