China to hasten small coal mine consolidation-Xinhua

BEIJING, Sept 3 (Reuters) - China will speed up consolidation and closures of small coal mines and will cut the number of small mines to less than 10,000 by the end of next year, China's energy chief was quoted by state media as saying on Thursday.

The government will encourage large coal miners to take over small ones so as to oust outdated production capacity and improve productivity, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration.

Some of the existing small coal mines will be closed, some will be consolidated and then revamped, and some will be taken over by larger groups, Zhang was quoted as saying.

More than 70 percent of over 2,000 small mines in Shanxi province at the heart of China's coal belt have agreed with bigger mines on merger in the country's latest push for consolidation in the industry, Xinhua reported on Aug. 19.

Although China has called for consolidation for years, many small mines have survived the power struggle between Beijing, determined to improve mine safety, and local governments, who receive sizable fiscal revenues from these mines. (Reporting by Jim Bai and Chen Aizhu, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)