In what has been a disastrous week for Chinese coal miners, 45 miners died in four separate incidents including mine gas explosions and a mine flood.

The coal deaths were in addition to 151 fatalities in Shanxi Province, where a mud and rock slide killed at least 151 local residents and workers at an unlicensed iron mine.

The accident at the Tashan Mine has sparked protests among local residents Reuters news agency reported.

Washington-based news service Radio Free Asia reported that Chinese State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) figures show Chinese miners have been dying at a steady rate of 50 per week.

SAWS officials claim China has been making reductions in mining deaths.

But critics of the country’s safety record say the insatiable domestic demand for coal has kept safety risks at unacceptable levels in order to maintain production.

Radio Free Asia compared official labour and energy data in China and the United States.

Dramatic contrasts were recorded.

China has 5.5 million coal miners, 14 times more than the US, but produces only twice as much coal.

China recorded 3786 coal mining deaths in 2006, 111 times more that the US death toll in 2007.

RFA said on the basis of each ton of coal mined China’s death rate was 50 times higher than the US.

Earlier this year, SAWS minister Li Yizhong told the media that corruption amongst mine operators and government officials was one factor leading to poor safety standards in mines. Another was a lack of training.

The Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said China’s central government promoted safety but had not committed resources to enforcing it.

“They can talk about it. They can say we’re going to do this, we’re going to do that, but I don’t see it happening,” energy security program chairman Robert Ebel told RFA.

“They know they don’t really have the control over outlying mines and they need the coal so they just sort of look the other way.”