China to Close At Least 4,800 Small Mines to Improve Safety
China has announced plans to close more than 48-hundred small coal mines in an effort to reduce the number of mining accidents.
State Administration of Coal Mine Safety head Zhao Tiechui said today (Monday) that about 26-hundred mines will close by the end of this year, with 22-hundred more closing in 2007.
Despite government efforts to close small mines, the official Xinhua news agency reports China still has some 17-thousand of them in operation. The small mines account for one-third of China's coal production, but two-thirds of the industry's accidents.
According to Xinhua's figures, Chinese mines have already reported 29-hundred deaths in more than 18-hundred accidents in the first eight months of 2006.
中国宣布了一项关闭4千8百多家小煤矿的计划，目的是减少煤矿事故。
国家煤矿安全监察局局长赵铁锤星期一表示，中国今年年底之前将关闭大约2千6百多处小煤矿，2007年还将关闭2千2百多处。
官方的新华社报导说，尽管政府努力关闭小煤矿，中国目前仍有1万7千座小煤矿还在运营之中。这些小煤矿产量占中国煤产量的三分之一，但是事故死亡人数却占全国煤矿的三分之二。
根据新华社提供的数据，今年前8个月一共发生1千8百多起煤矿事故，2千9百名矿工死亡。
