Cost pressures on coal will come from expenses to meet standards and tighter supply caused by expected pit closures
China will compel its coal industry to spend more on safety after several high-profile mine disasters in recent months underscored how soaring demand has exacerbated substandard conditions in the nation's coal mines.
China's over-stretched mining industry is struggling to supply the power sector, which consumes some 54 per cent of the nation's coal output.
The mine at Fuxin, Liaoning province - where an explosion last Monday killed more than 200 miners in the deadliest coal mine accident reported by the government since 1949 - had reportedly been working through the Lunar New Year holiday. Some workers have said they had only one day off in a year.
While official statistics from the State Administration for Coal Mine Safety show a mining death toll of 6,027 last year - 150 fewer than in 2003 - independent estimates put the number at up to three times higher. Coal safety varies widely province from province. Guizhou, which accounted for 6 per cent of national coal output last year, reported the most coal mining deaths last year at 894, followed by 562 from Sichuan.
Shandong, which produced 10 per cent of total output, reported only 51 deaths.