Unsafe coal mines to be closed: official

Coal mines that don't comply with safety regulations will be closed, Yang Dongliang, director of the State Administration of Work Safety said on Wednesday.

The work safety administration will carry out a detailed examination of all the coal mines in the country, Yang said. Production will be halted if serious potential safety hazards are found and the mine will be reorganized. After that, if the mine still doesn't comply with safety standards it will be closed.

Closing small coal mines with inadequate safety conditions or restarting production after reorganizations will still be the main work of the work safety administration, Yang said, adding that he expects 625 small coal mines to be closed this year.