Interfax-China reported that central government regulators are putting more pressure on provincial governments to shutter coalmines that do not meet governmental safety standards.

The State Administration of Work Safety and the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety have ordered regional governments to conduct safety inspections of local coalmines and shut down those that fail.

According to the report coalmines must score 70 out of 100 to pass the inspections, which evaluate coalmines based on their safety facilities and accident prevention and rescue preparedness plans.

The SACMS's goal is for more than 95% of coalmines with an annual output above 1.2 million tonnes to meet the standards by 2012. It also aims for more than 80% of coalmines with an annual output between 300,000 and 1.2 million tonnes and more than 60% of coalmines with an annual output of below 300,000 tonnes to meet the same requirements.

Mr Zhao Tiechui SACMS director said China shut down 12,209 coalmines as of the end of 2008 which has reduced annual coal production capacity by 300 million tonnes.

According to the SAWS these closures have helped lower the death rate among coalminers from 4.94 deaths per 1 million tonnes of coal output in 2002 to 1.18 deaths per 1 million tonnes in 2008. The death toll from accidents in Chinese coalmines last year was 3,215.

(Sourced from Interfax-China)