China Henan Province’s Development and Reform Commission (Henan DRC) has announced that it plans to eliminate 39.63 million mt of coal production capacity in 2017-18 by shutting down 158 coal mines.
In particular, the coal mines in question mostly apply illegal mining methods or have failed to obtain mining licenses. Meanwhile, some of them are located in nature reserve areas, water conservation protection zones or in scenic areas.
Henan DRC stated that to the companies operating such coal mines it would award RMB 2.5 million for each coal mine closed in 2017 and RMB 2.0 million for each one shut down in 2018.