China's Shandong province still doesn't have a mature plan on how to consolidate its coal sector, provincial governor Jiang Daming said on Mar 6.

When asked whether such a plan will be released this year, Jiang said "we will try our best."

China's coal sector consolidation has been closely tracked by international coal companies due to the impact it has already had on prices and China's coal imports.

Shanxi, one of the nation's key coal-producing regions, reduced the number of its coal mines to 1,053 from 2,600 after merging or closing all mines with less than 300,000 tonnes production capacity a year. The consolidation led to a 6% decline in the province's coal output last year.

Similar plans from Shandong and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region are expected by the market.

Central China's Henan province has already set out its plans. It aims to complete consolidation by April 2011, merging coal miners with annual output capacity between 150,000 and 300,000 tonnes, the provincial government has said.

China imported 125.83 million tonnes coal in 2009, while producing 2.96 billion tonnes from domestic mines, according to official data. It became a net coal importer last year. 

Source: en.sxcoal.com