News
More measures urged to improve coal mine work safety

(2005/03/10)

BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhuanet) -- An advisor Thursday urged the Chinese government to establish a state coal industry administrative agency and cross-province coal enterprise groups aspart of the measure to improve work safety in coal mines.

The government should also launch a new mechanism to coordinatethe input of the central and local governments and enterprises, improve the technical coal mining policy and promote technical advance in coal mines, said Zhang Baoming, a member of the National Committee of the National People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body.

A string of fatal coal mine accidents resulting in heavy casualties have aroused grave concern in China. The State General Administration of Work Safety report a total of 6,027 people were killed in 3,639 coal mine accidents last year.

Addressing a plenum of the ongoing CPPCC annual session, Zhang,former director of the State Administration of Work Safety, said the situation concerning coal mining safety remained grave as a severe energy strain caused by China's rapid economic growth had prompted coal mines across the country to produce beyond their actual mining capacity, largely neglecting the miners' safety requirements.

Other factors behind the frequent coal mine accidents include poor industrial administration and insufficient supervision over production, technical administration, quality standards and safetyrequirements of coal mines, he said.

China's state-owned coal mines have a comparatively better safety record than private mines. Zhang revealed that half of China's 25,000 small non-state coal mines did not meet safety standards and fail to invest enough for work safety.

He suggested governments at various levels, departments concerned and enterprises improve their work safety responsibilitysystem and resolutely shut down illegal small coal mines accordingto law.

The central government has attached great importance to coal mine work safety and Premier Wen Jiabao said Saturday the government would spend

3 billion yuan (361 million US dollars) on "safety technologies upgrading" at state-owned coal mines to "truly make coal mining safer" this year.

"We must have a strong sense of responsibility to the people and truly make coal mining safer," said Wen while reporting his government work in the past year to the country's top legislature,the National People's Congress, at its annual full session in Beijing Saturday morning.

The premier linked the production safety issue with the maintenance of social stability and building of a "harmonious society" in China, which is endorsed by top Chinese leaders.

"At present, we should give top priority to coal mining safety," Wen stressed.

A Beijing-based mining safety expert told Xinhua that he believed the 3-billion-yuan state funds would mainly be used to resolve the problem of coal bed gas, as gas explosion had turned out to be the "top killer" in Chinese coal mines.

Apart from renovating and upgrading gas alarm systems and improving underground ventilation facilities at coal mines, the money might also be spent on research to use coal bed gas as a new energy, said the expert.
 
UGL Enterprises Acquires Six New Uranium Licences in Mongolia

Vancouver-based mining company UGL Enterprises Ltd. announced that it has acquired six Mongolian exploration licences totalling approximately 98,000 hectares. UGL now has acquired 10 uranium properties through licence application or outright purchase, covering over 250,000 hectares throughout Mongolia. The new licences are located in the Mongolian provinces of Khovsgol, Khentii, Dungobi and Dornogovi.

Information summarized from: UGL Enterprises Ltd. Press Release
 
Undersea tunnel planned to link mainland to Taiwan

www.chinaview.cn 2005-05-13 14:40:41


 

    BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhuanet) -- China is considering building five major undersea tunnels in the coming 20 to 30 years, including one linking the mainland with Taiwan, an expert revealed here Friday.

    Qian Qihu, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told an ongoing Sino-Russian seminar on engineering technology in Beijing that one of the planned cross-straits tunnels was expected to connect east China's Fujian Province with Taiwan. Fujian and Taiwan lie on the opposite sides of the Taiwan Straits.

    The other four tunnels may be established between Hong Kong-Macao-Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Zhuhai, Dalian-Yantai, Shanghai-Ningbo, and Guangdong-Hainan.

    Most of the projects will be constructed beneath the water, but the construction of some bridges is also needed, said the expert, adding that some technical problems involving the handling of rock and soil are yet to be solved.

    China began to build its first undersea tunnel in Xiamen, Fujian this year. Construction of the 9-kilometer tunnel, which has some 6 kilometers under the sea level, is expected to complete in 2010.

    The Chinese mainland and the island province of Taiwan, which were separated for decades as a result of a civil war in the late 1940s, have witnessed increasingly closer economic and trade links over these years. Attaching top priority to national reunification, the Chinese government has proposed many measures for the promotion of the benefits of people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

 
China NetTV Holdings Acquires 13 Copper-gold Properties in China

Vancouver-based China NetTV Holdings Inc. announced that it has acquired interests in an additional 13 copper-gold properties in Tibet, China, from Honglu Investment Holdings Inc. China NetTV signed an agreement with Honglu Investment Holdings in November of last year in which China NetTV acquired interests in 25 mineral properties.

Information summarized from: China NetTV Holdings Inc. Press Release
 
Japanese firm eyes mining projects

By MELODY M. AGUIBA

Nitetsu, associated with Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC), Japan's largest steel producer, is looking into mining investments in the Philippines in light of renewed mining activity domestically that could beef up its raw material supply of metals for steel manufacturing.

Edwin G. Domingo, assistant director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Department of Environment and Natural Resources (MGB-DENR), said Nitetsu officials visited the Philippines to look into possible investments.

"They're looking at developments in the Philippines for possible investments. They're still in the scanning stage. We've just showed them the 23 major mining projects and the 41 exploration prospects. Everybody's reading that the Philippines has changed its policy toward encouraging mining investments," he said in an interview.

Even Nitetsu's possible mode of investment is in an evaluation stage.

"There are different modes of investment. They can go into joint venture or they can go into forward sales where they'll finance the operations and buy the production. Money in mining is big. They wouldn't just come to the Philippines and bring the $300 or $400 million in an attaché case. They need to check the opportunities," he said.

NSC produces 30 million tons of steel annually, making it Japan's largest steel producer . Its expansion is also believed to be in light of increased demand for steel in China and Asian countries. It manufactures steel plates, sheets, pipes, and tubes and specialty, processed steel products.

Last year, NSC entered into a long term contract with Companhia Vale do Rio Doce in South America, world's largest iron producer, for the supply of 70 million tons of iron ore between 2005 and the end of 2014 Japanese fiscal year — March 2015.

Nitetsu is also apparently eyeing metal sources as it has entered into a tieup with Sumitomo Metal Industries for the physical distribution, purchase of raw materials, material and machinery and management of neighboring steelworks for greater cost competitiveness.

Under this tie-up, NSC is now using existing iron- and steelmaking facilities of Sumitomo Metals. Its business with Sumitomo also involves mutual supply of semi-finished and downstream products during relining of blast furnace and when needed, integration of stainless steel and welding materials businesses.

NSC has agreements to supply hot coils to Sumitomo Metal following the restructuring of steel sheet production at Wakayama Works of Sumitomo Metal.

NSC also has engineering, construction, chemicals, nonferrous metals, ceramics, electronics, information and communications, and urban development operations.

Its expanding business also involves interest in East Asia United Steel Corporation (EAUSC), a holding company run by Sumikin Iron and Steel Corp. and where Sumitomo Metals has 55 percent interest, China Steel, 29 percent; Nippon Steel, 10 percent, Kobe Steel, two percent, and and Sumitomo Corp., 1.5 percent.

Part of this EAUSC formation involves cooperations between NSC and its partners on research and development in upstream ironmaking and steelmaking, on cross-licensing and use of common resources, and on environmental projects and recycling to promote reduction in global warming.
 
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