According to a statement made on October 14 by China's National Energy Board (NEB), 1,355 outdated or backward coal mines have been shut down in China until the end of September throughout 2010, with the annual output involved reaching 125.19 million mt.
In May this year, the NEB issued a notice requesting that nationwide 1,539 coal mines be closed and that 121.67 million mt of outdated coal production capacities should be eliminated by the end of 2010.