ABSTRACT
China has one of the world’s largest mining industries producing coal, gold and most rare earth minerals. In addition, China is also one of the world’s leading consumers of most mining products. However, in recent years, due to the slowdown of overall national economic development, as well as concern over serious air pollution in China, the central government has been targeting the mining sector in general, and coal mines in particular, to reduce their capacity by closing certain mines. So far, the key focus of the mining industry in China has been upon its production capacity, but key challenges regarding human resource issues in the mining sector, including employment entitlements and working conditions, migrant workers and their treatment, safety issues and injury, and other related tensions, need to be discussed. Therefore, this chapter is designed to address these issues by using the recent statistical data and the author’s previous fieldwork research in China.
