HARBIN - The northeastern province of Heilongjiang, a major coal production base, will close 44 coal mines in the coming three to five years, according to the provincial government.

By closing 24 mines run by the state-owned Longmei Mining Group and another 20 local mines, the province will cut coal production capacity by 25.67 million tonnes, according to a coal mining overcapacity reduction plan released by the provincial government Saturday.

It said the government will not approve any new mining projects in the coming five years.

Meanwhile, small mines with less than 150,000 tonnes of annual output will be closed over safety concerns, it said.

The government will also close mines with outdated machinery and systems, which do not have the ability to upgrade, it said.

China is downsizing its coal industry, and plans to cut coal capacity by half a billion tonnes in the next few years. H Last year, Heilongjiang shut down 233 mines, removing 13.11 million tonnes of obsolete capacity, according to the provincial work safety authorities.