Newsletter
September 2005
News from the
Chinese mining industry
As there
isn't much of a mining industry left in Britain to report on here's
some news from China, which is fast becoming a major supplier of coal
to British power stations now that the UK is importing more coal than
we are producing ourselves. It shows, too, that empoyers are exactly
the same the world over in their corruption and indifference to the
plight of their workers, regardless of whateverr political system
they're operating under.
China
to close 7,000 coal mines
BBC,
31 August 2005
China
is suspending production at a third of its coal mines, in an effort
to reduce the huge number of fatal accidents that blight the industry.
....The
7,000 mines affected will need to meet national safety standards before
they can reopen, state media report.
....More
than 3,000 miners have been killed this year alone, in fires, floods
and other work-related accidents.
....Analysts
say the closures may be hard to enforce, as jobs and energy needs
can take precedence over safety.
....Many
of the mines are unlicensed and unregulated, but often when these
have been shut down in the past, they have reopened almost immediately,
as local officials and mine owners are anxious for their revenue.
....Official
figures show China has around 24,000 coal mines, meeting about 70%
of the country's annual energy demands.
....The
crackdown comes two days after rescuers called off the search for
scores of miners trapped in a flooded pit in southern China since
early August.
....The
death toll from that disaster now stands at 123.
....The
State Administration of Coal Mine Safety has already published a list
of 1,324 mines earmarked for closure.
....About
5,700 others have been told to suspend production by the end of the
year.
....It
is unclear how many miners might lose their jobs, the China Daily
newspaper reported.
....But
Li Wenge, from the Coal Industry Group of Shaanxi province, conceded
that a lot of people would be affected.
...."Those
in private and small mines will lose their jobs and their families
will become poorer," he told the China Daily.
....But
he added that coal supplies were unlikely to be seriously affected
by the shutdown, because most the pits being closed were relatively
small.
....More
than 2,700 miners were killed in disasters in the first half of this
year, and another 700 died or were missing in the six weeks up to
15 August, Xinhua news agency reported.
....But
independent estimates say the real figure could be much higher, as
mine owners often falsify death counts to avoid closures and fines.
....Many
of the accidents have been blamed on a lack of fire-control and ventilation
equipment, or failure to enforce safety regulations.
....Along
with shutting mines, the government is also cracking down on collusion
between local officials and mine owners, the China Daily said.
Mine
safety drive fails in China
By Daniel
Griffiths
China
has admitted that a campaign to get officials to give up illegal stakes
in the country's highly profitable but dangerous coal mines has failed.
....The
country has the world's deadliest mining industry, and thousands die
each year in mining accidents.
....This
campaign was supposed to be part of a major drive to improve safety
in its coal mines.
....Local
officials often have shares in the mines, which have risen in value
as coal fuels the booming economy.
....But
poor safety standards and many illegal operations have led to the
deaths of nearly 3,000 miners in the first half of this year alone.
....Beijing
ordered all local officials to give up their stakes after growing
public anger about the problem.
....Now,
though, it has admitted that those orders have been ignored by many
Communist Party cadres.
....One
quoted in the state media said he would rather give up his official
position than lose his shares.
....It
is a stark reminder that in the new China, Beijing's control over
local government is weakening as officials put profit before the party.