China to ban small coal mines for improving pit safety record

China is to ban the building of coal mines with high gas danger whose annual production capacity would be below 300,000 tonnes, according to a new guideline for coal mine safety, the State Administration of Work Safety told Xinhua on Thursday.

The country plans to cut the death toll from coal mine gas blasts by at least 20 percent by 2010, compared with the 2007 figures, according to the coal mine safety guideline issued by the work safety commission of the State Council, or the Cabinet.
Coal mine accidents killed 3,770 people last year, among whom 1,084 people died from gas blasts, statistics from the administration showed.

The guideline orders large-scale coal mines to set up their own rescue teams, while smaller mines must work with neighboring rescue teams to guarantee prompt rescue in case of any accident.

Xinhua