16 public officials are under investigation. Shanxi Provincial Investigation Team: Jingcheng Mining has concealed 40 accidents and 43 miners have died. Miners | Mining | Accidents

Notice on the Investigation and Handling of the Death Concealment Incident of Jingcheng Mining Miners in Daixian County

On June 29, 2023, China News Weekly published an investigation into the death concealment incident of miners in Daixian, Shanxi. After the report, our province immediately established a joint investigation team consisting of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, the Provincial Public Security Department, the Provincial Emergency Department, and other departments to enter Daixian, Xinzhou City. In accordance with regulations, discipline, and law, the investigation and disposal of the death concealment incident of miners in Daixian Jingcheng Mining Co., Ltd. will be escalated.

The investigation team conducted in-depth clues collection, evidence collection, and verification work, visiting more than 200 families, friends, and workers of the deceased miners in Shaanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, and other relevant counties within the province. They produced more than 150 witness inquiry records, retrieved more than 200 relevant department and enterprise information, and consulted more than 40000 pages of evidence related to Jingcheng Mining. At present, the relevant issues have been basically clarified, and the investigation and disposal situation is hereby reported as follows:

1. on Reflecting Jingcheng Mining's Concealing Production Safety Accidents and Deaths of Miners

According to China News Weekly, from 2007 to 2022, the "9 · 1" landslide accident occurred, and more than 30 miners at Jingcheng Mining were reported dead due to production safety accidents.

The investigation team conducted a bottom-up investigation on the production safety accidents of Jingcheng Mining in the past 20 years since its establishment in August 2003. After investigation, it was found that before the September 1 landslide accident in 2022, Jingcheng Mining had concealed 40 production safety accidents and 43 miners had died. Among them, the list of 17 people attached to the report and the one person mentioned have all been verified.

After investigation, it was found that Jingcheng Mining organized mining operations in different mines, with a total of 3 to 5 people in a single mine. After a fatal accident occurred, the mining company blocked the news, concealed it, and arranged for the families of the deceased miners to negotiate separately in other places. Through coercion and inducement, privately reaching high compensation, and signing a "sealing agreement", the company deliberately evaded responsibility, punishment, and punishment.

2. on Reflecting Jingcheng Mining's Weakening of Safety Production Responsibility and Illegal Production

The investigation team found out that Jingcheng Mining has many problems, such as subcontracting, affiliation qualification and management confusion, etc. The enterprise fulfills its main responsibility to collect the contractor's safety deposit, to take care of the contract and only to ignore it. The contractor has insufficient technical capacity in production organization, large mobility of personnel, no full coverage of safety education and training, and no mining in accordance with safety requirements and design plans. During the suspension of production and construction of non-coal underground mines in the province in 2022, Wang Moumou, the actual controller of Jingcheng Mining Area 1, organized mining operations without authorization in the name of controlling the goaf without passing the safety acceptance and without going through legal procedures. Illegal construction of dry concentrators and beneficiation operations in the dump. From January to August before the "September 1" collapse accident, a total of 2.607 million tons of ore were mined illegally. In addition, Jingcheng Mining contracted out the project to an engineering company when managing the mined-out area. In fact, Xiong Moumou, Zhang Moumou and Luo Moumou organized three teams to carry out the construction. Among them, Luo Moumou subcontracted the project to Ji Moumou and other teams. The construction teams organized by the personnel of the general contractor and the subcontractor Jingcheng mining business do not have the relevant construction qualifications, and the person in charge of the general contractor and the subcontractor is affiliated with a qualified unit, and then the business is undertaken in the name of the affiliated unit, and the responsibility for production safety is not implemented in layers of subcontracting and subcontracting.

3. on the issue of reflecting the involvement of Jingcheng Mining Contractor in the black and evil.

The investigation team found out that in early 2004, Jingcheng Mining Contractor Jin Fujun began to set foot in the iron ore mining industry in Daixian County. From 2006 to 2018, Jin Fujun successively contracted a number of iron ore mining businesses in Daixian County. Through subcontracting mine caves, investing in shares, finding jobs, including food and lodging, and giving money and spending, Jin Fujun successively closed in on fellow villagers and some local people. He mainly grabbed money by contracting mine transactions, forced transactions, opening casinos and other means, forming a triad organization headed by him, A total of 17 criminal facts were involved in 8 crimes of intentional injury, extortion, provocation, forced trading, intentional destruction of property, opening casinos, illegal storage of explosives, and failure to report and falsely report safety accidents. Among them, on September 13, 2014, a mountain collapse occurred in the second mining area of Shuangyang Iron Mine in Daixian County, and four miners of the Jinfu military team died after being trapped. During the organization of the rescue, Jin Fujun and others concealed the truth of the accident from the accident rescue team, falsely reported that only one miner had died, and privately reached a compensation agreement with the families of the four miners who died. In June 2019, Jin Fujun and others were arrested by Xinzhou public security organs on suspicion of not reporting or falsely reporting safety accidents. In June 2020, Jin Fujun was placed on file for investigation by the public security organs of Xinzhou City to organize and lead to participate in the underworld organization case; in December 2021, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison, deprived of political rights for 5 years, and sentenced to confiscation of all personal property by the Xinfu District Court of Xinzhou City. In May 2022, the Xinzhou Intermediate Court upheld the original verdict.

4. on the issue of reflecting the failure of the regulatory authorities to perform their duties

The investigation team found that the territorial supervision department did not conduct effective safety production supervision and inspection of Jingcheng Mining, and failed to promptly discover and thoroughly investigate and deal with the concealment of mining enterprises. In 2018, when Jingcheng Mining had the largest number of concealed accidents, according to the annual law enforcement plan of the Daixian regulatory department, safety inspection should be carried out at least once a quarter, but there were only 2 inspection records and 1 review record throughout the year. Except for 5 problems found in the first inspection, no problems were found in the follow-up inspection and review. In 2022, the regulatory authorities registered 15 relevant inspection and review records and found 30 problems. However, the rectification of the 30 problems was superficial, with neither on-site inspection nor effective feedback, which condoned the repeated occurrence of illegal violations by Jingcheng Mining.

5. Preliminary Disposal of Concealed Incidents

During the investigation, the emergency management department has canceled the "Safety Production License" of the second mining area of Daixian Jingcheng Mining 1. in accordance with relevant regulations. It was preliminarily determined that Jingcheng Mining no longer had the conditions for safe production. The provincial party committee and the provincial government decided to close it in accordance with the law, and imposed administrative penalties on the main persons in charge of Pan Moumou and Wang Moumou who were not allowed to serve as the main persons in charge of non-coal mines for life.

In the investigation, the accountability for the concealment of incidents has been carried out simultaneously. As of now, the public security organs have lawfully taken criminal coercive measures against 28 suspects, including Pan and Wang, the main leaders of Jingcheng Mining, who are suspected of not reporting safety accidents, major responsibility accidents, and major labor safety accidents.

The disciplinary inspection and supervision organs are digging deep into the corruption issues and "protective umbrellas" behind the concealment of information, such as power and money transactions, interest transmission, dereliction of duty, and so on. As of now, 16 public officials suspected of serious violations of discipline and law have been investigated and detained.

The above-mentioned suspect and public officials suspected of serious violations of discipline and laws will be dealt with in accordance with regulations and laws, and their suspected crimes will be transferred to the procuratorial organ for review and prosecution.

Provincial Joint Investigation Team

July 30, 2023