Thread Content
According to incomplete statistics, at the founding of New China, the people in various regions received approximately 40 coal mining enterprises, 200 mines, and a few open-pit mines from the old China. They are mainly distributed in the northeast, North China, and Shandong and Anhui provinces in East China. With a few exceptions, their scale is very small, the equipment is rudimentary and the technology is outdated. Coupled with the damage caused by prolonged wars, they are in a state of severe disrepair and decay. For example, all 9 mines in the Datong coal mine area in Shanxi were flooded; the machinery and equipment was completely destroyed. There wasn’t a single working area underground that remained intact, no factory building on the surface was still standing, no machine could operate properly, and no tunnel could be used for traffic – production came to a complete halt ； The West Open-pit Mine and Longfeng Mine of the Fushun Coal Mine in Liaoning have been flooded and are essentially shut down ； Of the 18 coal mines in Jiaozuo, Henan, 11 have been completely destroyed, while 7 only have their shaft frames left; all of them have ceased operations entirely ； Larger coal mines in Zibo and Zaozhuang in Shandong, as well as Yangquan in Shanxi, have also been reduced to ruins. China’s coal industry began in such a mess. During the first three years after the founding of the country, which was a period of national economic recovery, efforts were focused on restoring coal mining operations that had remained from the old China and carrying out necessary reforms. In 1953, China launched its first five-year plan for economic development. To ensure an adequate supply of coal for coking in steel-producing areas, to address the coal shortage in East China, and to gradually improve the layout of coal mines, 15 existing mining areas were expanded during this period, while the construction of 10 new mining areas also began. Coal production increased from 32.43 million tons in 1949 to 130.73 million tons in 1957, a rise of more than four times. Meanwhile, to meet the needs of coal mine production and construction, specialized teams for geological exploration, coal mine design, and shaft construction were gradually established. In July 1955, three general bureaus were officially established for coalfield geological exploration, design management, and capital construction, further strengthening leadership and enhancing training for technical personnel and teams, thus laying a solid foundation for the coordinated development of the coal industry in the future. “During the Second Five-Year Plan period, the mistakes of the Great Leap Forward had serious consequences for the coal industry. The mining relationship is strained, tunnels and equipment are in poor condition, coal production fluctuates greatly, there is significant waste in capital construction, and 60% of the coal field geological reports are of poor quality. Later, by implementing the policy of \"adjustment, consolidation, expansion, and improvement,\" production and construction were able to return to normal tracks. During the 10-year **period**, economic development was severely damaged, and the coal industry also suffered a great catastrophe. 72 mining bureaus were successively transferred to local authorities, and the effective management systems were abolished. When the centrally allocated coal mines were disrupted and could not meet the needs of local industries and people’s livelihoods, local small coal mines developed spontaneously on a large scale. In 1971, the output of small coal mines at the national, county, and team levels was 1.35 times higher than in 1965. In order to strengthen and develop local small coal mines, a 40-character policy was formulated at that time: \"The whole party should get involved; mines should be established at all levels; focus on small and medium-sized mines, give priority to them; develop from small to large, from domestic to advanced technologies; organize them in groups to form mining areas; identify key areas for development and build bases.\" These policies not only promoted the development of small coal mines but also laid the foundation for the subsequent large-scale growth of collective coal mines in rural areas. To implement the decision to reverse the trend of transporting coal from the north to the south and accelerate the development of the \"Third Front,\" starting in 1966, 40% of the country’s coal field geological exploration resources were mobilized; a total of 37 exploration teams were sent to the provinces in the south to carry out more intensive geological surveys. At the same time, key forces were drawn from the north to boost the development of new coal bases in the southwest, northwest, and south of the Yangtze River. In 1973, faced with the increasingly prominent imbalance between coal supply and demand, and given that provinces in the north such as Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei had large coal reserves and favorable mining conditions but were unable to fully utilize these advantages due to a lack of resources, teams dedicated to coal field geological exploration and coal mine infrastructure construction moved back from the south and southwest to the north. In short, the damage and losses inflicted on the coal industry over 10 years have been severe. Over the course of 10 years, although raw coal production increased by 92.2%, 720 new mines were built. However, it left behind many long-lasting problems that are difficult to resolve. Many mines, in pursuit of higher production, resort to any means necessary: they focus more on extraction than on excavation, prioritize extracting thicker layers over thinner ones, and neglect safety measures, resulting in various negative consequences ； It disrupted the order of geological exploration operations, leading to a sharp decline in quality and efficiency; moreover, the constant efforts to carry out operations in various locations delayed the construction timeline ； Mine construction violated procedures, ignored technical requirements, reduced the quality of the project, and was put into operation hastily, leaving behind many problems. Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Party, our country has entered a new era of reform and opening up with economic development as its focus, and the coal industry has also gradually embarked on a path of healthy development. Firstly, a sound order in coal production was restored and established, bringing the mining relations back to normal. At the same time, efforts were made to develop mining machinery and improve safety conditions in production, resulting in stable production levels. By 1982, the country’s total coal output reached 666 million tons, meeting the demands of national economic development for coal quite well. With the further advancement of reform and opening up across the country, the coal industry, through various explorations, has devised a new path for the development of its industry. Its main contents include four basic requirements, the achievement of five transformations, and 12 specific guidelines. The four basic requirements are: the growth rate of coal production should be relatively stable, without sharp fluctuations, and there should be a steady increase in production over the long term ； Development should be relatively healthy, meaning the layout should be reasonable, the proportions should be balanced, the methods used should be advanced, and the quality of the team should be improved ； Production and construction are now fairly well-developed; it is no longer possible to incur such heavy casualties as in the past ； The economic benefits should be good; in other words, the construction speed must be fast, the return on investment satisfactory, the quality of coal improved, more varieties available, comprehensive utilization of coal processing developed, and management strengthened, so as to **improve both the economic benefits of the enterprise and its social energy-saving contributions. Achieving the five transformations means shifting from a reliance on manual labor to a reliance on mechanized operations ； Shifting from the production of single-type raw coal to the production of multiple varieties ； Shifting from a single business model to a diversified one ； A shift from being unable to control the occurrence of major catastrophic accidents and occupational diseases to being able to control them to a large extent ； Shift from small-tonnage coal transport vehicles to large-tonnage ones, and assist railway and transportation authorities in developing large-tonnage coal trains and waterborne pusher ships for coal transport. The 12 specific guidelines are: implementing and improving various economic responsibility systems ； Reform the economic system and develop cooperation among regions, sectors, and enterprises ； Make bold use of foreign investment and fully leverage domestic capital for development ； Carry out technical upgrades to the mines in a planned and targeted manner ； Accelerate coal development and shorten the construction period ； Vigorously develop local coal mines ； Develop coal washing and processing to change the structure of coal products ； Resolutely implement the principle of \"safety first\" ； Take practical measures to strengthen the workforce in coal mines ； Strengthen intellectual development and improve the scientific and cultural literacy of employees ； Vigorously develop scientific research ； Make coordinated plans, carry out construction simultaneously, and work together with railway and transportation authorities to address coal transportation issues. This new approach is the blueprint for the coal industry’s development toward the year 2000. By earnestly implementing this blueprint and continuously refining it through practice, the coal industry has advanced at an unprecedented pace. In 1990, the country’s coal production reached 1.079 billion tons, placing it among the top coal-producing countries in the world. By 1995, coal production had risen to 1.292 billion tons, keeping the country at the top of the world rankings for consecutive years. The steady increase in coal production has led to a rare relaxation in the domestic coal supply and demand situation over the years, thereby meeting the needs for the sustainable, rapid, and healthy development of the national economy. The layout of the coal industry is also becoming increasingly rational. To date, more than 100 coal bases have been established across the country; not only has the area east of the Taihang Mountains been given priority for development, but a solid foundation has also been laid for tapping into the abundant coal resources in the western region. Great changes have also taken place in the technology, equipment, and safety conditions of coal mines; by 1995, the degree of mechanization in coal mining in state-owned mines had reached 71.58%. Significant progress has also been made in the comprehensive processing and utilization of coal. In particular, it has reached world-leading levels in many technical fields such as special well drilling, mining under roads, railways, and buildings, and comprehensive coalfield exploration; historic breakthroughs have been achieved in several key technical and economic indicators. Reform and opening up have stimulated the enthusiasm of all sectors, opening up new prospects for the coal industry. At present, a dynamic landscape has emerged featuring various forms of ownership such as state-owned, collective, and individual; multiple investment channels; multi-level mining operations; a combination of large, medium, and small mines; and coordinated development. Most coal mines have shifted from a past model of operating with a single product variety to one that focuses on coal while engaging in multiple product varieties and various types of business operations. China’s coal industry is advancing steadily along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.