China has announced it will shut more than 1000 mines across four provinces in the country’s north and south.
The country currently has approximately 9620 legal coal mines.
It comes after the nation announced it will not approve any new coal mines over the next three years.
The move is part of a bid to dramaticallyreduce existing coal stockpiles.
The latest coal mines to be shut are in the Yunnan, Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces in the south, and the Heilongjian province in the north, according to China Daily.
China’s deputy director for the State Administration of Work Safety, Huang Yuzhi, explained it will reach its production and stockpile target by slashing the number of smaller operating mines.
“More than 1300 coal mines were closed last year, and small coal mines with a scale of annual production of less than 300,000 tons that had major accidents will be gradually closed this year, as well as those mines that are operating illegally,” Huang said.