Russian enterprises registered 210 accidents and 541 mortal cases since the beginning of 2006, Rostekhnadzor said.
The number of accidents and casualties during blasting operations has also risen, Rostekhnadzor said.
Since the beginning of the year, rock blasting caused nine fatal incidents in Russia, compared with five cases in 2005. At the same time, the number of cases of explosives theft has fallen almost by half, the agency said.
Rostekhnadzor carried out more than 6,000 inspections of mining enterprises in 2006 and issued more than 10,000 stop orders, the agency said.
The most serious accident in 2006 occurred at the Vershino-Darsunsky gold mine in the Chita Region, five time zones east of the capital, which claimed the lives of 25 miners, Rostekhnadzor said.
Practically all coal mines in Russia have problems with gas drainage, required to reduce the probability of methane explosions, Rostekhnadzor said.
