On the first day of collection, 980 coal enterprises turned in a total of 61 million yuan.

   Shanxi Province has published four-item economic policies this time. Besides the collection of sustained development fund, the other three policies are paid transfer of coal resources mining right, drawing of guaranty money for restoring of ecological environment of mines and drawing of development funds for other production of coalmines after the resources exhaustion.

   The new coal policies will help build a new cost accounting system and improve the coal market price formation mechanism. In a period of time to come, with implementation of complete cost accounting, coal price in China will rise moderately, as the production cost of coal enterprises will increase.

   On the basis of a 15-yuan price increase of coal contracts per ton in 2006, the price of coal contracts for 2007 in Shanxi Province again rises over 20 yuan/ton on average.

   Coal price rose 15 yuan per ton on average in Shanxi in the first two months of this year, basically equal to the price set for major coal contracts at the beginning of this year. However, if the other three policies apply, the cost will increase by 32 yuan, which is called "internalization of the external costs". Under the 32 yuan/ton standard, there is still space for further hike of coal price.

   Experts hold that implementation of new policy measures will fore sure produce big influence on coal prices.