The State Administration of Production Safety (SAPS) announced on Tuesday that all coal mines deemed to be vulnerable to gas explosions will have to be equipped with a safety monitoring system by December.
   
The SAPS has earmarked 50.2 million yuan (US$6.07 million) to 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities for the construction of safety monitoring systems in 104 coal mines.
   
The digital systems will be mainly used to monitor gas levels in mines, as gas blasts have become a top killer in the mining industry, said a SAPS notice.
   
By December, coal mines that haven't installed the system or whose systems fail to work well will be closed. Coal mines whose monitoring systems are not coordinated with local safety supervision authorities will have to stop production to straighten out their problems.
   
The SAPS warned that a nationwide initiative would soon be launched to evaluate the operation of the new systems.
   
According to the government, approximately 95 percent of coal mine accidents with a death toll of more than 100 since 1949 have been caused by gas blasts.

(Xinhua News Agency May 25, 2005)