The Chinese government will order the closure of 5,000 small mines operating in the country to address the rising number of fatalities and deaths related to mine accidents.
The State Administration of Work Safety said on March 4, Wednesday, that the closure of small mines, which account for at least 5 percent of the total mines in the country, will help lessen the number of accidents and fatalities for this year.
Xinhua reported that the government criticized many small mines for the rise in mine accidents, which were often attributed to the use of substandard technology, poor equipment and lack of safety concern for miners.
The government labeled small mines as places unfit for work due to safety issues that result in serious accidents, the report added.
According to a 2007 government regulation, accidents may be considered serious if they can cause 10 to 30 deaths, or may result in serious injuries to 50 to 100 individuals. A serious accident may also result in direct economic losses that may cost 50 million yuan ($8.13 million) to 100 million yuan.
Extreme types of serious accidents include those that can cause the death of more than 30 persons, cause injuries to at least 100, and may result in economic losses equivalent to more than 100 million yuan.
Yang Donglian, director of State Administration of Work Safety, said that the country's workplace safety record has improved over the year as the record of accidents and deaths have dropped.
The official said that the decrease in the number of workplace accidents and injuries may be credited to better supervision and strict enforcement of rules, stiffer penalties for violations and better infrastructure and equipment for workers.
Last year, the government has reported 269,000 accidents throughout the country in the first 11 months, a 4.7-percent reduction from the previous year's record. The number of fatalities also decrease by 6.1 percent, or equivalent to roughly 57,000.
According to media reports, the number of accidents and fatalities dropped by 3.5 percent in 2014 and 4.9 percent in the previous year.
Yang said that the country has seven mine accident national rescue teams, 14 regional teams, 16 teams from state-owned companies and at least 10 training centers.