Eight other workers were injured, four in a critical condition and one person remained missing, after the explosion that ripped through the Diaoyutai coal mine in Sichuan province on Friday afternoon.

Rescue operations continued on Saturday, Xinhua reported, quoting local authorities.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

In 2010, 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in China, according to official statistics -- a rate of more than six workers per day -- but labour rights groups say the true figure may be much higher as mine companies cover up accidents to avoid fines and costly mine closures.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:48 AEST Sydney (AFP) Dec 20, 2011 - Trading in Australian miner Gloucester Coal was halted Tuesday following reports it was in talks with China's Yanzhou Coal Mining to create an Aus$8 billion (US$7.9 billion) coal giant.

In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Gloucester said it had requested trading of its shares be temporarily stopped "pending the release of an announcement by the company".

"The trading halt is necessary as Gloucester expects to make an announcement in connection with a possible change of control transaction, but is not yet in a position to make the announcement," it said.

"Gloucester would like the trading halt to remain in place until the commencement of trading on 22 December 2011, unless, before that time, Gloucester makes a further announcement."

In Hong Kong Yanzhou shares were also placed in trading halt Tuesday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange pending what the company said was "the release of an announcement which is price sensitive in nature".

The developments come after The Australian Financial Review reported that China was attempting to create Australia's largest independent coal producer through a proposed merger between Gloucester and Yancoal Australia, a unit of Yanzhou.

State-owned Yanzhou had approached Gloucester in recent weeks and negotiations were at a preliminary stage, the financial tabloid said without citing sources.

Gloucester, a coal producer with exploration and mining operations in New South Wales and Queensland states, has a market capitalisation of about Aus$1.44 billion.

Any such deal, which comes amid consolidation in Australia's mid-tier coal sector, would require approval by the country's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

Two years ago Yanzhou took over coal miner Felix Resources in a deal worth US$3.2 billion -- at the time the biggest by a Chinese firm in Australia.

Yanzhou had also reportedly been interested in Whitehaven Coal before that company announced a merger with fellow Australian miner, Aston Resources, to form an independent coal company worth Aus$5.10 billion.

Australia's coal industry is dominated by major global players BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata, but smaller firms are being targeted as competition for resources is stoked by rapid industrialisation in China and India.

US-based Peabody Energy, the world's largest private coal miner, snapped up Australia's Macarthur Coal in November in a deal worth almost Aus$5 billion.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:48 AEST Beijing (AFP) Nov 19, 2011 - Five miners were rescued on Saturday after languishing for at least 24 hours in a collapsed mine in northern China, where seven colleagues remain trapped, state media said.

Two of the rescued were pulled out after 24 hours underground while the fifth to be saved surfaced about 30 hours after the mine collapsed, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

All five rescued were sent to hospital where they were reported to be in a stable condition.

Two of the seven miners still underground have been confirmed alive and were being given food and water through a lifeline drilled by rescuers, Xinhua said, citing sources at the mine in the coal-rich Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

An initial investigation found that the mine's support pillars were "insufficient", Xinhua said.

The accident early Friday was the latest in an industry plagued by corruption and safety hazards.

Coal mine accidents are common in China, where work safety is often neglected by bosses seeking a quick profit.

Last week, at least 34 workers were killed after a blast at a mine in the southwestern province of Yunnan, Xinhua reported on November 13, three days after that accident.

China's rapid economic growth has brought rising demand for power. It relies on coal for 70 percent of its energy needs, making it the world's largest consumer of the fossil fuel.

Last year, 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in the country, according to official statistics -- a rate of more than six workers per day.

Labour rights groups, however, say the actual death toll is likely to be much higher, partly due to under-reporting of accidents as mine bosses seek to limit their economic losses and avoid punishment.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:48 AEST Beijing (AFP) Nov 20, 2011 - Tragedy struck a rescue operation in a north China colliery Sunday when rescuers found the lifeless bodies of four miners trapped after a cave-in, the government said.

One miner remained missing after the incident Friday morning at the Yuanlin coal mine in Inner Mongolia, the government said in a statement.

The cave-in initially trapped 12 workers, but seven were rescued over two days.

The deaths came after the state-run Xinhua news agency reported Saturday that rescuers had made contact with the five trapped miners and were giving them food and water through a lifeline drilled by rescue workers.

The accident is the latest in an industry plagued by corruption and safety hazards.

Earlier this month, at least 34 workers were killed after a blast at a mine in the southwestern province of Yunnan, state press reported.

China's rapid economic growth has brought rising demand for power. It relies on coal for 70 percent of its energy needs, making it the world's largest consumer of the fossil fuel.

Last year, 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in the country, according to official statistics -- a rate of more than six workers per day.

Labour rights groups, however, say the actual death toll is likely to be much higher, partly due to under-reporting of accidents as mine bosses seek to limit their economic losses and avoid punishment.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:48 AEST Beijing (AFP) Nov 18, 2011 - A coal mine collapse trapped 12 miners in north China, the state-run Xinhua news agency said on Friday, the latest accident in an industry plagued by corruption and safety hazards.

The mine is in the coal-rich Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xinhua said, without giving further details.

Coal mine accidents are common in China, where work safety is often neglected by bosses seeking a quick profit.

China's rapid economic growth has brought rising demand for power. It relies on coal for 70 percent of its energy needs, making it the world's largest consumer of the fossil fuel.

Last year, 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in the country, according to official statistics -- a rate of more than six workers per day.

Labour rights groups, however, say the actual death toll is likely to be much higher, partly due to under-reporting of accidents as mine bosses seek to limit their economic losses and avoid punishment.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:48 AEST Beijing (AFP) Nov 13, 2011 - The death toll from a blast at a coal mine in China has risen to 34, an official said Sunday, as rescuers continue to search for workers still trapped underground amid fading hopes of finding survivors.

The mine in the southwestern province of Yunnan was hit Thursday by a "coal and gas outburst" -- a sudden and violent ejection of coal, gas and rock from a coal face -- trapping 43 workers underground. Nine are still missing.

The news comes as a separate accident hit the northwestern province of Gansu early Sunday, when a flood at a coal mine trapped seven workers underground and triggered another rescue operation, the official Xinhua news agency said.

In Yunnan's Shizong county, meanwhile, rescuers have been taking turns heading down the pit to search for survivors and at least 240 tonnes of coal dust have been removed.

"It's very dangerous for rescuers because the gas is still very condensed," an official at the provincial work safety administration told AFP, adding 34 bodies had been found so far.

"And in closed conditions, the ventilation doesn't work well," said the official, who refused to be named.

The provincial rescue headquarters said on Saturday that the air was thin in the shaft and "the chances of survival for the trapped miners are slim."

The chief of China's work safety watchdog, Luo Lin, described the mine's safety measures as "very poor" and blamed lax supervision by local authorities.

The bosses of the mine -- which was operating without a licence after its permit was revoked a year ago, according to Xinhua -- have been detained and an investigation is under way.

Coal mine accidents are common in China, where work safety is often neglected by bosses seeking a quick profit.

Last year, 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in the country, according to official statistics -- a rate of more than six workers per day -- but labour rights groups say the true figure may be much higher.

The accident in Yunnan comes days after a rock blast in a coal mine in the central province of Henan trapped dozens of workers underground.

Most were eventually pulled out after a 40-hour rescue operation, though 10 were killed.

Last month, a gas explosion at a state-owned coal mine in neighbouring Hunan province left 29 miners dead.

And earlier in October, blasts at mines in the southwestern city of Chongqing and the northern province of Shaanxi killed 13 and 11 miners respectively.

China's Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang was quoted as saying by Xinhua that "the latest coal mine accidents ring the alarm, warning us that accident prevention is a complex, difficult, and urgent task."

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:48 AEST Beijing (AFP) Nov 11, 2011 - Fears were growing on Friday for 23 workers trapped underground after a blast at an illegal coal mine in China that killed 20 of their colleagues, the latest disaster to hit the industry in the country.

Hundreds of rescuers and medics have rushed to the site in southwest China to try to save the missing miners, but their efforts were being hampered by a gas leak, official media said, as distraught relatives looked on.

Ventilation machines were pumping methane gas out of the shaft while rescuers took turns heading down the pit to search for survivors, the Xinhua news agency reported.

"The rescue is difficult because the gas levels remain high and may lead to an explosion at any time," Tan Xiaopeng, a fire control official in charge of the rescue, told Xinhua.

The mine was hit Thursday by a "coal and gas outburst" -- a sudden and violent ejection of coal, gas and rock from a coal face, which can cause serious injuries and damage machinery, a local mine safety official told AFP.

China News Service (CNS) and Xinhua said 20 people had been confirmed dead at the remote Sizhuang Coal Mine in Shizong county, in the province of Yunnan, while 23 others were trapped.

Police had cordoned off the scene as relatives of the missing held a tearful vigil.

Quoting local work safety officials, Xinhua said the mine was operating without a licence after its permit was revoked a year ago.

The accident comes days after a rock blast in a coal mine in the central province of Henan trapped dozens of workers underground.

Most were eventually pulled out after a 40-hour rescue operation, though 10 were killed.

Coal mine accidents are common in China, where work safety is often neglected by bosses seeking a quick profit.

Last year, 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in the country, according to official statistics -- a rate of more than six workers per day.

Labour rights groups, however, say the actual death toll is likely to be much higher, partly due to under-reporting of accidents as mine bosses seek to limit their economic losses and avoid punishment.

China's rapid economic growth has caused demand for energy, including coal, to surge.

The Asian nation is the world's leading consumer of coal, relying on it for 70 percent of its growing energy needs.

Over the past eight years it has on average built one coal-fired power station a week. And with the arrival of winter, mines are operating at full capacity.

Fatalities at Chinese coal mines peaked in 2002 when 6,995 deaths were recorded, sparking efforts by the government to boost safety standards.

In its latest campaign, the government last year issued a policy that required six kinds of safety systems -- including rescue facilities -- to be installed in all coal mines within three years.

But accidents still occur on a regular basis. Last month, a gas explosion at a state-owned coal mine in the central province of Hunan left 29 miners dead.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:48 AEST Beijing (AFP) Nov 10, 2011 - An accident at a coal mine in China trapped at least 43 workers underground on Thursday, state media and officials said, the latest in a string of incidents to hit the country's vast mining industry.

Rescuers have rushed to the scene of the accident, which occurred early Thursday in the southwestern province of Yunnan, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear. Xinhua said there had been a gas leak while a local mine safety official told AFP the mine may have been hit by a "coal and gas outburst."

An outburst is a sudden and violent ejection of coal, gas and rock from a coal face in an underground mine, which can cause serious injuries as well as damage machinery.

It was not clear how many miners were in the privately run Sizhuang Coal Mine at the time of the accident, which comes days after a rock blast in a coal mine in the central province of Henan trapped dozens of workers underground.

Most were eventually pulled out after a 40-hour rescue operation, though 10 were killed.

Coal mine accidents are common in China, where work safety is often neglected by bosses seeking a quick profit.

Last year, 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in the country, according to official statistics -- a rate of more than six workers per day.

Labour rights groups, however, say the actual death toll is likely to be much higher, partly due to under-reporting of accidents as mine bosses seek to limit their economic losses and avoid punishment.

China's rapid economic growth has caused demand for energy, including coal, to surge.

The Asian nation is the world's leading consumer of coal, relying on it for 70 percent of its growing energy needs.

Over the past eight years it has on average built one coal-fired power station a week. And with the arrival of winter, mines are operating at full capacity.

Fatalities at Chinese coal mines peaked in 2002 when 6,995 deaths were recorded, sparking efforts by the government to boost safety standards.

In its latest campaign, the government last year issued a policy that required six kinds of safety systems -- including rescue facilities -- to be installed in all coal mines within three years.

But accidents still occur on a regular basis. Last month, a gas explosion at a state-owned coal mine in the central province of Hunan left 29 miners dead.

Earlier in October, blasts at mines in the southwestern city of Chongqing and the northern province of Shaanxi killed 13 and 11 miners respectively.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:48 AEST Beijing (AFP) Nov 8, 2011 - The death toll from a rock blast in a Chinese coal mine has risen to 10 after two seriously injured workers who were rescued from the shaft died from their wounds, state media reported Tuesday.

The accident happened in the central province of Henan last week, instantly killing eight miners and trapping another 53, most of whom were only pulled out 40 hours after the blast in a rescue mission broadcast live on state TV.

Three of those pulled out were in a critical state, and two subsequently died, a mine official was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.

The miners had been trapped by a rock burst -- a violent explosion caused by huge pressure -- moments after a minor 2.9 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Sanmenxia, according to Xinhua.

It was not immediately clear if the earthquake directly caused the accident at the colliery, which is part of the Henan Yima Coal Mine Group, a giant state-owned mining company.

Officials at the group refused to comment when contacted by AFP.

While mining accidents are common in China, it is unusual for so many people to be successfully brought to the surface alive.

The operation is the most successful such effort in the country since April 2010, when 115 miners were rescued after eight days of being trapped underground at a mine in northern China.

But the incident was the latest to hit the hazardous mining industry in China, and came days after a gas explosion at a state-owned coal mine in neighbouring Hunan province left 29 miners dead.

Earlier in October, blasts at mines in the southwestern city of Chongqing and the northern province of Shaanxi killed 13 and 11 miners respectively.

In 2010, 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in China, according to official statistics -- a rate of more than six workers per day. Campaigners suggest the true figure is likely to be far higher.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:48 AEST Beijing (AFP) Nov 5, 2011 - Forty-five miners trapped underground after a rock blast in a Chinese coal mine were brought to the surface Saturday in a rare successful rescue, CCTV state television reported.

Eight people had been confirmed killed by Thursday's accident at the Qianqiu colliery in the central province of Henan, it said. Another 21 had earlier been brought out.

Emergency personnel had to dig a tunnel at a depth of several hundred metres to reach the trapped men, and CCTV -- which covered the rescue live -- showed miners emerging from the colliery's main lift more than 36 hours after the blast.

Some were still wearing their miner's lamps, and all of them looked tired and had blackened faces.

Most were able to walk, sometimes with the support of rescuers, as crowds looking on in the town of Sanmenxia live cheered.

The last miner to be rescued was carried out on a stretcher and immediately taken away by ambulance.

While mining accidents are common in China, it is unusual for so many people to be successfully brought to the surface alive. The operation is the most successful such effort in the country since April 2010, when 115 miners were rescued after eight days trapped underground at a mine in northern China.

In October last year 33 workers trapped underground for 69 days in a mine under Chile's Atacama Desert were pulled out in a dramatic 22-hour rescue.

In the latest accident the miners were trapped by a rock burst -- a violent explosion caused by huge pressure -- moments after a minor 2.9 magnitude earthquake, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

It was not immediately clear whether the earthquake directly caused the accident.

A total of 74 people were in the shaft at the time, CCTV said.

The colliery is part of the Henan Yima Coal Mine Group, a giant state-owned mining company.

The incident was the latest to hit the hazardous mining industry in China, and came days after a gas explosion at a state-owned coal mine in neighbouring Hunan province left 29 miners dead.

Earlier in October, blasts at mines in the southwestern city of Chongqing and the northern province of Shaanxi killed 13 and 11 miners respectively.

In 2010, 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in China, according to official statistics -- a rate of more than six workers per day. Campaigners suggest the true figure is likely to be far higher.

China's rapid economic growth has caused demand for energy, including coal, to surge. Critics say some mining bosses have put the safety of workers at risk in their pursuit of profit.

China is the world's leading consumer of coal, relying on it for 70 percent of its growing energy needs.

Over the past eight years it has on average built one coal-fired power station a week. And with the arrival of winter, mines are operating at full capacity.

"In this season when coal consumption and prices are high and profits lucrative, the heads of (mining) companies should pay extra attention to safety," Luo Lin, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, said Saturday.

]]> Wed, 08 FEB 2012 08:56:48 AEST Subscribe to our daily selection of space, military, environment and energy newsletters responseText http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=0016gbbKsaiGSpQFojVO8ZoHw%3D%3D