A total of 141 small-scale coalmines in central  China's  Henan  Province  have  resumed production following government  suspension last November, the local government told Interfax on June 29.

"In an effort  to reduce the number of coalmine accidents and curb local coal output  to  cushion falling coal prices, the Henan government asked 495 small-scale  coalmines  to  suspend  production  in late November, a Henan Coal   Industry  Bureau  (HCIB)  official,  who  asked  to  remain anonymous, said.

In Henan,  small-scale  coalmines refer to those with annual coal output below 300,000 tons.

"However,  because of the gradual recovery of coal demand and an overall improvement  in the economy, the government has allowed some small-scale coalmines  to resume production in recent months to create more jobs for coalminers," the official said.

The resumption   of   these   coalmines  has  increased  Henan's  annual production capacity by 43.74 million tons, according to HCIB.

Nevertheless,  the official said that government regulators will control the pace  that  the remaining 354 coalmines will resume production so as not to upset Henan's coal market.

As one of China's top three coal producing provinces, Henan produced 200 million tons of coal in 2008, of which small-scale coalmines contributed about 90 million tons.