Prevent and resolve major safety risks at the source.
Release time:
2019-07-18
Shutting Down Non-Coal Mines Lacking Safe Production Conditions to Prevent and Mitigate Major Safety Risks at the Source—Interpretation of the “Notice from the Office of the State Council Safety Committee on Doing a Good Job in Shutting Down Non-Coal Mines Lacking Safe Production Conditions” Recently, the Office of the State Council Safety Committee issued the “Notice on Doing a Good Job in Shutting Down Non-Coal Mines Lacking Safe Production Conditions” (Anwei Ban [2019] No. 9). Officials from relevant departments of the Office of the State Council Safety Committee answered reporters’ questions regarding the details of this work.
Shut down non-coal mines that do not meet safe production conditions.
Prevent and resolve major safety risks at the source.
— Interpretation of the “Notice from the Office of the State Council Safety Committee on Doing a Good Job in Closing Non-Coal Mines That Lack Safe Production Conditions”
Recently, the Office of the State Council Safety Committee issued the "Notice on Doing a Good Job in Closing Non-Coal Mines That Lack Safe Production Conditions" (Anwei Ban [2019] No. 9). Officials from relevant departments of the Office of the State Council Safety Committee answered reporters' questions regarding the details of this work.
I. Please introduce the purpose and significance of shutting down non-coal mines that do not meet safe production conditions.
Answer: In recent years, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, various regions and relevant departments have worked closely together and carried out their tasks diligently, continuously promoting the closure of non-coal mines that do not meet safety production standards. This has played a significant role in preventing and reducing production safety accidents in non-coal mines. Compared with 2012, in 2018, the number of non-coal mines nationwide decreased by 23.6%, and the number of tailing ponds declined by 40%. The number of production safety accidents and the number of fatalities both dropped by 48.4% and 56.3%, respectively. However, overall, the number of non-coal mines remains relatively high, with the vast majority being small-scale mines—small mines account for 83.2% of the total—and small tailing ponds of grades four and five make up 87.4% of the total. The situation characterized by numerous small mines operating under poor conditions has yet to undergo a fundamental transformation. In particular, some small non-coal mines have rudimentary safety production conditions, weak safety management foundations, low capacities for safety assurance and emergency response, and fail to meet safety production standards, making them highly vulnerable to production safety accidents. Therefore, it is necessary to continue urging localities to close, in accordance with the law, those non-coal mines that do not meet safety production requirements.
II. Which categories of mines are the primary targets of this closure effort?
Answer: Specifically, this includes five types of non-coal mines.
The first category includes enterprises that have been ordered by law to suspend production and rectify their operations due to significant hazards posing a serious risk of major production safety accidents, and which fail to carry out the required rectifications within the prescribed time limit or, even after rectification, still fail to meet the statutory safety standards. A significant hazard posing a serious risk of major production safety accidents refers to hazards that are highly dangerous and difficult to rectify—hazards that necessitate either complete or partial suspension of production and business operations and require a certain period of remediation and control before they can be eliminated; or hazards that, due to external factors beyond the enterprise’s control, are particularly challenging for the enterprise itself to eliminate. When an enterprise is found to have significant hazards posing a serious risk of major production safety accidents, it indicates that the enterprise faces systemic problems and poses substantial safety risks. Should an accident occur, such an enterprise would very likely suffer severe casualties. According to Article 108 of the “Law on Work Safety,” “If a production and business entity fails to meet the safety production conditions stipulated in this Law as well as other relevant laws, administrative regulations, national standards, or industry standards, and despite being ordered to suspend production and business for rectification, it still fails to meet these conditions, the entity shall be shut down; the relevant authorities shall revoke its relevant licenses and permits in accordance with the law.”
The second category involves violations of the “three simultaneous” requirements for safety facilities in construction projects—specifically, refusal to comply with safety supervision directives and failure to complete the relevant procedures within the prescribed time frame. According to the Law on Work Safety, the safety facilities of a construction project undertaken by a production and business entity must be designed, constructed, and put into operation and use simultaneously with the main project. For mining construction projects, the design of safety facilities shall be submitted to the relevant authorities for review in accordance with applicable national regulations. The "Administrative Measures for the Supervision and Management of the 'Three Simultaneous' Requirements for Safety Facilities in Construction Projects" (originally Order No. 36 of the former State Administration of Work Safety, hereinafter referred to as "Order No. 36") further elaborates on these requirements. The "three simultaneous" requirement for safety facilities in construction projects is a fundamental measure for eliminating and controlling hazardous factors at the source, and it represents a concrete manifestation of proactive prevention of production safety accidents. If a production and business entity violates the "three simultaneous" requirements, refuses to comply with safety supervision directives, or fails to complete the relevant procedures within the prescribed time limit, it will result in inherently inadequate safety assurance capabilities for the construction project, rendering it unfit to meet the conditions for safe production. In accordance with Article 108 of the Law on Work Safety, such entities shall be ordered to shut down according to law.
The third category comprises metallic and non-metallic mines that coexist with coal (or are associated with coal) and whose safety production conditions fail to meet the national or industry standards applicable to coal mines. Mines that coexist with coal (or are associated with coal) refer to mines that extract metallic and non-metallic mineral resources—such as siderite, hematite, bauxite, silica, kaolin, fireclay, diatomaceous earth, bentonite, pyrophyllite, graphite, pyrite, gypsum, anhydrite, limestone, dolomite, quartz sand, oil shale, natural asphalt, carbonaceous shale, and ground wax—that are found within coal-bearing strata either interbedded with coal seams, occurring as part of the roof or floor strata, or forming separate layers on their own. These mines are particularly vulnerable to hazards such as gas, coal dust, spontaneous combustion of coal seams, ground pressure, and water inrush, posing significant risks of accidents. To ensure safe production at mines that coexist with coal (or are associated with coal), the Office of the State Council’s Work Safety Committee issued the “Notice on Further Strengthening Safety Production Work at Metallic and Non-Metallic Mines Coexisting with Coal (or Associated with Coal)” (Anwei Ban [2015] No. 6) in April 2015. This notice clearly stipulates that mine design units and coal mine safety evaluation units must conduct design and safety assessments for projects involving mines that coexist with coal (or are associated with coal) in accordance with relevant regulations, standards, and provisions governing coal mining. Furthermore, these mines must be subject to safety supervision according to the same regulations, standards, and provisions applicable to coal mining. If, after rectification efforts, a mine still fails to meet the safety production requirements for coal mines, the local people's government concerned shall be requested to order its closure in accordance with the law.
The fourth category comprises small open-pit quarries whose mining areas are located within a minimum distance of less than 300 meters from each other. Article 12 of the “Regulations on Safety Management and Supervision and Inspection of Small Open-Pit Quarries” (formerly Order No. 39 of the former State Administration of Work Safety, hereinafter referred to as “Order No. 39”) stipulates: “The minimum distance between the mining areas of adjacent quarries shall be greater than 300 meters.” When the distance between adjacent quarries falls short of this requirement, their blasting operations will inevitably affect one another. On the one hand, this greatly increases the risk of accidents caused by flying debris from blasts, potentially injuring workers. On the other hand, the blasting vibrations generated by each quarry’s operations can impact the stability of the other quarry’s slopes, leading to slope instability and eventual collapse. Such mines should be shut down in accordance with the law.
The fifth category comprises tailings ponds that have been operated to their designed final elevation or no longer carry out tailings disposal operations. Article 28 of the “Regulations on the Safety Supervision and Management of Tailings Ponds” (formerly Order No. 38 of the former State Administration of Work Safety) stipulates: “When a tailings pond has been operated to its designed final elevation or no longer carries out tailings disposal operations, it shall complete closure within one year.”
III. How exactly are key mines of Category Three and Category Five to be defined for closure?
Answer: The five categories of key mines to be shut down have clear requirements stipulated in laws, regulations, and standards and are highly operable in implementation. They are primarily defined according to the following principles.
(1) Definition of Category I Mines. In September 2017, the former State Administration of Work Safety issued the “Standards for Identifying Major Hazards of Production Safety Accidents in Metal and Non-metallic Mines (Trial)” (Anjian Zongguan Yi [2017] No. 98), which specifies 48 scenarios that can be identified as major hazards of production safety accidents—24 for underground mines and 12 each for open-pit mines and tailing ponds. If a mine has major hazards of production safety accidents and, after being ordered to halt operations for rectification, still fails to meet the conditions for safe production or fails to carry out rectification within the prescribed deadline, it shall be designated as a key target for closure.
(2) Definition of Category II Mines. First, compliance with the “Three Simultaneities” requirements for non-coal mines shall be determined primarily based on Order No. 36. Second, attention shall be paid to whether such enterprises have engaged in illegal or non-compliant behaviors, such as refusing to comply with safety supervision directives or failing to complete relevant procedures within the prescribed time limits. Any of the following situations—failure to conduct a safety pre-assessment as required, lack of a safety facility design, commencement of construction without prior review and approval by the emergency management department for significant changes to the safety facility design, failure to construct in accordance with the approved safety facility design, or putting safety facilities into production or use before they have passed acceptance inspection—shall be deemed as a violation of the “Three Simultaneities” requirements.
(3) Definition of Class III Mines. First, determine whether a metal or non-metal mine is a co-produced (or associated) mine with coal based on its geological exploration report. Second, verify whether the mine’s design and safety assessment have been conducted by an entity qualified to perform coal mine design and safety assessments. Finally, pay particular attention to whether its ventilation, gas prevention, outburst prevention, and fire prevention measures comply with relevant standards such as the “Coal Mine Safety Regulations,” and whether construction and production are organized in accordance with coal mine standards.
(4) Definition of Class IV Mines. The “Reply from the General Office of the State Administration of Work Safety Regarding Issues Concerning the Minimum Safe Distance Between Adjacent Open-Pit Mines” (Anjian Zongting Fazheng Han [2011] No. 218) clearly states that the minimum safe distance between adjacent open-pit mine mining areas refers to the minimum distance between the mine boundaries delineated by mining licenses. For small-scale open-pit quarries, regardless of the mining method employed, the minimum safe distance to adjacent mines shall comply with Order No. 39. Any pair of adjacent small-scale open-pit quarries whose mine boundaries as delineated by their respective mining licenses are less than 300 meters apart shall be designated as key targets for closure.
(5) Definition of Category 5 Mines. By reviewing the approved safety facility designs for tailings ponds, verify whether the current dam height has already reached the final design elevation. Tailings ponds that have not yet reached their final design dam height but where the enterprise has explicitly stated that it will no longer carry out tailings disposal operations in the future also fall under this category of mines.
IV. Please briefly introduce the criteria for closure.
Answer: For non-coal mines that do not meet the requirements for safe production, they must be shut down strictly in accordance with the following standards: First, revoke or cancel relevant licenses and permits, including mining licenses, safety production licenses, and business licenses. Second, dismantle facilities and equipment directly used in production, such as power supply systems, water supply systems, ventilation systems, hoisting equipment, and transportation systems. Third, for underground mines, blast or backfill the mine shafts; for open-pit mines, complete slope stabilization work; and for tailings ponds, complete closure and decommissioning procedures and publicly announce their removal from the registry. Fourth, set up conspicuous warning signs on the surface. Fifth, clean up and confiscate any remaining civilian explosives and hazardous chemicals at the mine site.
V. How the program shutdown is regulated
Answer: Closing a mine involves three steps. First, identify the entities to be closed. Local people's governments at or above the county level shall organize a comprehensive survey and assessment of non-coal mines within their jurisdictions and develop a list of non-coal mines proposed for closure after careful deliberation. Second, organize and implement the closure process. Local people's governments at or above the county level, together with relevant departments and enterprises, shall align with the closure standards and carry out closure measures in strict accordance with the law. Finally, organize inspections and acceptance checks. Local people's governments at or above the county level, together with relevant departments, shall conduct inspections and acceptance checks against the established closure standards.
Sixth, could you please brief us on the relevant requirements for this closure operation?
Answer: First, we must enhance our ideological awareness and take proactive and initiative-driven actions. We need to fully recognize the importance of shutting down non-coal mines that do not meet safety production standards, and genuinely strengthen our sense of responsibility and mission. Only when our understanding is thorough can our actions become truly voluntary. Second, we must clearly define our work objectives and implement them in strict accordance with laws and regulations. In 2019, the national goal was to shut down more than 1,000 non-coal mines that did not meet safety production standards. Localities should, based on the number and distribution of non-coal mines in their respective regions, scientifically and reasonably determine closure plans and break down these targets layer by layer, assigning them to local people's governments at the city and county levels. The city- and county-level local people's governments must strictly follow the closure procedures and standards and organize implementation in compliance with laws and regulations. Third, we must strengthen communication and coordination to build synergy in our work. We should establish and improve a coordinated mechanism under unified government leadership, with the joint participation of relevant departments, promptly study and coordinate to resolve key and difficult issues, and ensure the smooth progress of closure efforts. Fourth, we must carry out rigorous supervision and inspection to guarantee the successful completion of tasks. We should intensify guidance and supervision, and regularly monitor the progress of closure work. For regions where responsibilities are not properly implemented, work is inadequately carried out, or tasks cannot be completed on schedule, we must promptly adopt measures such as interviews and public criticism to urge rectification.
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