BEIJING - The Chinese government on Monday urged the coal industry to improve work safety by ordering mines to invest more in beefing up safety facilities and education of workers.

The State Administration of Work Safety announced Monday it had raised the minimum requirement for safety investment for coal mining companies.

Under the new rules, coal mining enterprises will put aside at least 30 yuan ($4.8) for each ton of coal output of mines that have high levels of gas, and 15 yuan for other less dangerous mines. The standard is set at 5 yuan for outdoor mines, according to the work safety regulator.

The funds will be used for improving safety facilities, safety education, prevention of health damage, underground shelters, and monitoring equipment of major danger sources.

The new revisions marked a significant improvement for boosting security compared to the previous standards set in 2004. At that time, the minimum safety investment companies put aside for highly dangerous mines was only 3-8 yuan per ton of output and 2-5 yuan for ordinary mines.

China's mines are among the deadliest in the world. Government data showed that 1,973 miners were killed in coal mine accidents in 2011, however, the death toll was down 19 percent compared to that in 2010.