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Author/Source: China’s Planned Projects Network Date: 2009-4-3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On March 27, in order to address the current financial crisis, the Coal Industry Bureau of Shanxi Province proposed reforms and developments for the coal industry, aiming for an integrated approach to coal resource utilization that emphasizes intensification, scaling up, diversification, modernization, and sustainable development. By the end of 2010, it was planned that all mines in the province would have a production capacity of 900,000 tons per year, with full mechanization using advanced mining techniques. At present, the average scale of each coal mine in Shanxi Province is only 360,000 tons, which is far lower than the average scale of 700,000 tons or more per mine in Inner Mongolia ； The proportion of output from key coal mines is only 53.14%, which is far below the international and domestic advanced levels. The level of mechanization and informatization across the entire industry is low; the mechanization rate for coal mining in local coal mines is only 29.78%. “Implementing the restructuring and integration of coal mines is the fundamental solution and long-term strategy for advancing the scientific development of the coal industry. ”Officials from the Provincial Coal Industry Bureau said that this year, all 11 cities in the province will complete the approval process for plans to merge and restructure coal mining enterprises. Large coal production companies such as Tongmei Group, Jiaomei Group, Yangmei Group, Lu’an Group, Jinmei Group, and China National Coal Group Pingshuo Company will act as the key entities in this process, merging with smaller coal mines, taking control of larger ones, and establishing leading coal enterprises in order to achieve operational scale. Provincial coal enterprises such as the Provincial Coal Transportation Company and the Provincial Coal Import and Export Company will also serve as the entities responsible for integration, merging and reorganizing local small coal mines in order to establish coal supply bases. As for local key coal enterprises that already have a production capacity of 3 million tons per year and possess at least one mechanized mining shaft with a capacity of 1.2 million tons per year, they will also be incorporated into the overall consolidation process of coal mine mergers and reorganizations ； The other local key coal enterprises involved in the integration of coal resources have at least one well with a production capacity of 90 tons per year or more. It is understood that for the coal enterprises involved in this resource integration process, after reorganizing and closing down some mines in a manner tailored to local conditions, as well as carrying out capacity replacement and transformation efforts, the scale of each coal mine will meet the admission standards for setting up coal mining enterprises in the coal-producing areas of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia that will be issued soon. Under the Class A standards, a company’s coal production volume must be no less than 10 million tons per year, and at least one of its coal mines must have a production volume of no less than 1.8 million tons per year ； Grade B standard: The enterprise’s coal production capacity must be at least 3 million tons per year, and at least one of its coal mines must have a production capacity of no less than 1.2 million tons per year. By the end of 2010, the number of mines in the province will be kept at 1,000, with each enterprise having an annual production capacity of no less than 3 million tons; all of them will be equipped with machinery primarily for comprehensive mining methods.