China aims to cut the number of its coal mines with an annual output below 300,000 mt to less than 800 by the end of 2021, according to the work plan issued together by China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), National Energy Administration and National Coal Mine Safety Administration.
In particular, there will be no coal mines with an annual output below 300,000 mt in northern China and northwestern China (not including southern Xinjiang), while the number of such coal mines in other regions will be reduced by at least 50 percent compared to the end of 2018.
The plan stipulates that no local government shall be allowed to approve the construction of coal mines with an annual output below 300,000 mt in any form, while in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia coal mines with outputs below 600,000 mt will not be allowed.
Those coal mines in China which were not in the official capacity list as of the end of 2018 will no longer be retained or upgraded, while exceptions to this rule will require special approval and certification.