Central China's Shanxi Province has issued a directive that new coal mines in the province must utilize modern mining machinery to the fullest possible extent. The policy, set out in the Shanxi Coalmine Modernization Standard published by the provincial government on May 30, is seen as another step in the provincial government's efforts to limit annual coal output by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015).
The cost of mechanizing a coal mine is far greater than using human resources, industry expert Chen Wenqian told Interfax on May 30. The move will essentially block small coal firms from opening new mines.
Shanxi is the second largest coal production region in China. This year, 100 new coalmines with approximately 100 million tons of annual production capacity are set to go on-line, according to the government report, adding that all of the mines comply with the new requirements. At present, roughly half of Shanxi's coal mines are "100 percent mechanized,' said the government.
In early March, the Shanxi government announced plans to cap annual coal output at one billion tons by 2015 over environmental concerns and to diversify its economic structure. The province produced some 872 million tons of coal last year, of which 66 percent was sold to other parts of China or abroad last year
China's 10 largest coal producers in 2011
Province/Region
Output(MT)
Inner Mongolia
979.00
Shanxi
872.28
Shaanxi
405.00
Henan
179.09
Guizhou
156.00
Shandong
154.00
Anhui
130.00
Xinjiang
120.00
Yunnan
99.57
Heilongjiang
98.20