latest news

China's State Council Work Safety Committee Office has dispatched inspection teams in two batches to 12 key regions nationwide to conduct open and covert inspections targeting the screening and sealing of abandoned mine shafts and to crack down on illegal mining activities, Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

So far, a total of 96,666 abandoned mine shafts of various types have been identified nationwide, with an overall closure completion rate of 92.72 percent. Since the rectification campaign began, departments including those responsible for natural resources and public security have investigated 568 cases of illegal mining, imposed administrative penalties on 338 people, transferred 102 cases to judicial authorities, and handed down criminal punishments to 403 individuals. 

Local governments have also conducted 31 accountability talks with main officials and regulators found to have failed in their duties, while 29 Party or administrative disciplinary sanctions have been executed, per the report.

Xinhua, citing sources from the National Mine Safety Administration, reported that under the unified deployment of the State Council Work Safety Committee Office, six special task forces led by the National Mine Safety Administration and joined by the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the National Energy Administration have so far completed open and covert inspections in Guangxi, Hubei, Guizhou, Liaoning, Henan, Hunan and Fujian.

The inspections focused on whether screening was comprehensive, closures were effective, enforcement was robust, and regulatory mechanisms were sound, with the aim of pressing local authorities to fulfill their responsibilities and tightening the full-chain accountability framework for cracking down on illegal mining, Xinhua reported.

The State Council Work Safety Committee Office vowed to continue organizing open and covert inspections, urging regions to further tighten accountability and effectively shore up safeguards for mineral resource protection and workplace safety, according to Xinhua.