Ningxia to close coal mines with annual output of less than 150,000 tons

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Ningxia to close coal mines with annual output of less than 150,000 tons

Shanghai. July 1. INTERFAX-CHINA - China's western Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region will shut down coal mines with annual output of less than 150,000 tons, the regional government announced on June 30.

According to the announcement, the decision comes after an explosion claimed the lives of five miners at a small coal mine in Zhongwei City on June 28.

The economically underdeveloped region, which has a population of only 6 million, currently produces more coal than it can consume.

Of the 56.7 million tons of coal that it produced last year, 25 million were exported to neighboring and eastern provinces such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Hebei, Shandong and Zhejiang, according to statistics from the Ningxia National Development and Reform Commission.

-WV