China’s Guizhou Province shut down 183 coal mines in 2015

BEIJING - Southwest Guizhou province, one of China’s major coal-producing provinces, shut down 183 mines last year in an attempt to cut obsolete capacity, according to the State-owned Xinhua newsagency, quoting local authorities.

Through closures, mergers and acquisitions, Guizhou has reduced its number of collieries in operation and under construction to below 800 from 2013’s 1,700, according to a spokesman for the provincial energy administration, who later added that the province plans to close more than 80 others this year as part of a national campaign to cut overcapacity amid dwindling demand and falling prices in the coal industry.

Last year, China’s coal-rich Heilongjiang province shut down 233 coal mines, removing 13.11 million tons of obsolete capacity.

The northeastern province accounts for more than 70% of the total coal reserves of China’s three northeastern provinces. However, more than 95% of its coal mines are small,l with annual production capacity of 300,000 tons or less, and generally feature outdated facilities, poor management and pollution. Finally,

Shanxi Province – which has produced about a quarter of China’s coal since 1949 – has decided to keep production under 1 billion tons per annum for the next five years. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).