China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has called for greater efforts to increase consolidation of coal mines in major coal producing regions including Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan, state media reported. According to a statement from the NDRC, China wants to see more coal companies with annual output capacity of 50 million tons and that such mines should make up more than 50% of the country’s total coal mine output. The National Energy Administration has shut down 1,355 small coal mines with an aggregate production capacity of 125.2 million tons in the first nine months of the year. As well as improving efficiency, Beijing is hoping that consolidation will also result in a reduction in the number of mine fatalities.