aarh how boring it is when a spp is in play, oh well time will...

aarh how boring it is when a spp is in play, oh well time will clear that up I guess. I found the below articles very interesting with what is happening in the Chinese coal industry. First I read a piece on Longwall News (subscription) and the other from Reuters that talks of the consolidation that may happen with Larger mines taking over/merging with smaller coal mines.

This can only spell out more safety products required when the larger mines clean up the smaller ones they have taken over to meet the new safety regulation. Looks good to me and the price has to too for anyone who wasn't in before the spp announcement or even for a decent top up imo.

Longwall snippets (10/09/09):

1. A gas explosion in a coal mine in Henan Province prompted immediate mine closures in the Pingdingshan district, thermal coal producing region.

2. 36 people missing (at least) and 43 dead

3. The Provincial government has shut down all 157 mine shafts in the district, according to various media reports.

4. Macquarie was reported to have said that the provincial government had cracked down on small mines in the area with less than 300,000tpa production who were operating without proper licensing.

5. Tougher safety regulations, cheaper international coal prices and lower freight charges have had China importing unprecedented amounts of coal this year.

and

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSPEK25600520090903

BEIJING, Sept 3 (Reuters) - China will speed up consolidation and closures of small coal mines and will cut the number of small mines to less than 10,000 by the end of next year, China's energy chief was quoted by state media as saying on Thursday.

The government will encourage large coal miners to take over small ones so as to oust outdated production capacity and improve productivity, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration.

Some of the existing small coal mines will be closed, some will be consolidated and then revamped, and some will be taken over by larger groups, Zhang was quoted as saying.

More than 70 percent of over 2,000 small mines in Shanxi province at the heart of China's coal belt have agreed with bigger mines on merger in the country's latest push for consolidation in the industry, Xinhua reported on Aug. 19.

Although China has called for consolidation for years, many small mines have survived the power struggle between Beijing, determined to improve mine safety, and local governments, who receive sizable fiscal revenues from these mines.