Authorities in the northern province of Shanxi postponed resource exploitation charges for mining firms during the first half (H1) this year, to alleviate the financial strain on firms saddled with overcapacity.
The province's land and resources department allowed 504 coal-mining firms and four other mining firms to delay paying their prospecting and mining charges for the first six months, totaling 16.1 billion yuan (2.42 billion U.S. dollars).
Coal mining must tackle overcapacity as part of the government's wider structural reforms.
The State Council, China's cabinet, said earlier this year that it aimed to cut 500 million tonnes of coal production capacity over the next three to five years.
Coal production in Shanxi has dropped by more than 60 million tonnes year on year during H1.
China's banking regulator has also asked banks to continue to support mining and steel firms' "reasonable funding needs" to ensure that they have the necessary financial support to press ahead with capacity reduction and structural reforms.
