A ticket to riches for bosses
By Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-27 10:53
Most of the coal bosses began to make their fortunes in 2002, when the
price of coal increased rapidly because of huge domestic energy
demand.
Oil prices have also risen steeply in recent years, meaning
many firms have switched to coal, pushing up demand further.
Since then,
many private coal mines, as well as some State-owned mines, have increased their
production capacities.
Some collieries have increased production by 10
times the permitted capacity, experts said.
Statistics indicate China's
total coal output increased from 1.4 billion tons in 2003 to 2.1 billion tons in
2005.
At the same time, coal bosses have come under the spotlight for
their alleged apathy towards frequent coal mine accidents and indifference to
safety.
Colliery accidents killed more than 2,900 miners throughout the
nation in the first eight months of this year, statistics from the State
Administration of Work Safety show.
Many people complain it is far
cheaper to compensate a dead miner's family than invest in safety
equipment.
In 2004 Shanxi Province said compensation should be no less
than 200,000 yuan (US$25,000) for each miner killed.
Collusion between
corrupt officials and coal bosses is also blamed for the huge number of deaths,
and the loss of State assets.
"Even if a boss earns 100 yuan (US$12.5)
per ton, he has to use 40 yuan (US$5) to pay off local officials, who have the
right to decide the fate of his colliery," Liu Hongsheng, a colliery owner in a
small town in northwestern Shanxi, told reporters.
Xue Yulong, another
coal boss, said his coal mine had to pay about 400,000 yuan (US$50,000) to
purchase a power distribution unit from a local power supply bureau, although
the market price of the machinery was only 10 per cent of that
figure.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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