Over 1,000 coal mines in China to be shut down

China will shut down more than 1,000 coal mines in Guizhou, Yunnan, Heilongjiang and Jiangxi provinces as parts of efforts to trim production capacity, a top work safety watchdog said on Friday.

Huang Yuzhi, deputy director of State Administration of Work Safety, the country's top safety regulator, said that China reached its target by controlling the total number of coal mines within 10,000m and will continue its efforts to reduce outdated capacity this year.

"More than 1,300 coal mines were closed last year, and small coal mines with a scale of annual production of less than 300,000 tons that had major accidents will be gradually closed this year, as well as those mines that are operating illegally," Huang said.

The total number of coal mines in China stands at 9,624.

China, the world's largest energy consumer, plans to stop approving new coal mines for the next three years.

Contact the writer at lvchang@chinadaily.com.cn