The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) yesterday released a list of what it said was the first batch of names of coal mines whose certificates have been cancelled for failing to meet safety standards due to outdated mining technology, poor management and low technical expertise.

The list comprised 580 collieries, most of which were in ten provinces and autonomous regions, including Guangdong, Liaoning, Hebei, Henan, Hubei and Guizhou, according to the NDRC's website.

Provincial departments in charge of issuing coal mine production certificates are also required to report more unqualified collieries to the commission on December 5 this year and January 10 of next year, it said.

On Sunday, a State Council production safety committee urged local governments to go all out to streamline the operation of mines and close unqualified ones.

Since the start of this year, work has been suspended at 12,990 unqualified mines, 4,672 of which passed safety checks after correcting problems, said a State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) official yesterday.

1,933 unqualified and 9,067 illegal collieries have been closed this year, according to the SAWS.

"All those that fail to pass government assessments by the end of the year will be closed for good," said the official, but the shutdowns are unlikely to have much impact on output because most of the mines involved are small.

Gas explosions, floods, cave-ins and other accidents kill over 6,000 miners each year in China.

(China Daily November 23, 2005)