Seventy-two coal mines in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region have been told to boost their output by nearly 100 million tons, as the nation continues to grapple with severe power shortages.
An urgent notice dated Thursday and issued by Inner Mongolia’s energy bureau gave the nod to 72 mines in the three cities of Wuhai, Ordos, Hulunbuir and the region of Xilingol league to raise annual production capacity by 98.35 million tons, or 55.11%, provided they do so safely.
Under the directive, which comes as part of a broader drive to grow China’s core coal capacity, mines were told to complete procedures for the increase by the end of the month. But it is unclear how long that will take to translate into actual output.