China puts halt on all small coal projects

China will no longer grant permission for new coal mining projects with designed annual capacities of below 300,000 metric tons, as authorities plan to take more steps to trim excess capacity in the sector, top industry officials said on Tuesday.

The National Energy Administration has announced detailed guidelines for the coal sector including production control, project approval, capacity management and structural reform.

According to the guidelines, no new coal mining projects will be permitted in the eastern parts of the country for an unspecified period of time.