December 04, 2008

China releases new measures to improve mining safety

Interfax China reported that China's State Administration of Work Safety recently released new measures designed to improve working conditions in metallic and non metallic mines and stem the tide of serious accidents that plague the mining industry in China.

According to State Administration of Work Safety at present as many as 95% of China's metallic and non metallic mines are small scale and lack suitable safety management systems. This has resulted in numerous small scale accidents as well as periodic serious accidents which have caused a large number of casualties.

According the statement the new measures will penalize mining companies for major accidents by suspending their licenses for a 5 year period.

State Administration of Work Safety hope that the number of casualties from metallic and non metallic mining accidents will fall by 10% between 2005 and 2010.

The new measures will encourage work safety administrators at various levels to cooperate in closing mines with substandard safety conditions, and strengthen safety management systems and organizations for workers through expert advice and regular safety training sessions, in order to enhance on-site safety management, avoid potential dangers and improve emergency response mechanisms.