BEIJING, Nov. 30, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Shanxi province in northern China is predicted to produce 620 million metric tons (tonnes) of coal this year, down 30 million tonnes from 2008 due to tepid demand and the closure of small-sized coalmines, said an official with local government.

Its average monthly coal output stood at 36.67 million tonnes, 49.66 million tonnes and 58.1 million tonnes in the first, second and third quarters respectively. The figure for October came to 58.81 million tons, up 22.2 percent on year.

Despite the steady monthly growth, the province's January-October coal production still saw a year on year decline of 41 million tons, to 489.96 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, Shanxi recorded only 356.92 million tonnes of coal sales outside the province during the first 10 months this year, a fall of 23 percent year on year.

The Shanxi government is overseeing the merging of small and medium-sized coalmines, which means some coal production has been suspended.

Shanxi plans to produce 670 to 700 million tonnes of coal in 2010, with 400 million tonnes of outward shipment.

The province's local government aims to cut the number of coal mining shafts from 2,598 to 1,053, with the number of coalmine companies slashed from more than 2,000 to 130 through a program of reorganization. Once the program is completed, all coalmines with an annual output less than 300,000 tonnes will have been shut down in the interests of mining safety.