BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s emergencies ministry on Thursday said all coal-producing regions in the country should investigate cases of illegal mining after a push to produce more of the fossil fuel had led to a series of accidents.
Thermal coal futures in China rose as much as 6.8% in night trading to 756.60 yuan ($118.80) a tonne after the announcement. They are still down more than half from a record high struck in October after the government took action to boost coal supply and ease a crippling power crunch.
Coal output in China, the world’s top producer and consumer of the fuel, hit a monthly record 370.84 million tonnes in November.
“Current demand for coal is large,” the Ministry of Emergency Management said after a year-end video conference with the State Council’s work safety committee. “With the increase in volume and price … the illegal mining dens that almost disappeared before have been revived.”
“We must deeply learn lessons from recent accidents,” it added in a statement, pointing to the flooding of an illegal coal mine in Xiaoyi, Shanxi province, that left people trapped late on Wednesday as a “typical example.”
Regions must take responsibility to prevent theft of mineral resources and for the revival of mines that have been closed down, it added.
China’s mines are among the world’s deadliest, with 336 accidents and 474 deaths recorded in the first 11 months of the year, according to official figures.
($1 = 6.3680 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; writing by Tom Daly;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
