NOVOSIBIRSK, May 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's industrial safety watchdog is preparing to withdraw an operating license from Yuzhkuzbassugol, which owns Siberian coal mines where methane explosions have killed about 150 people in the last three months, a spokesman said Monday.
"We are planning the full withdrawal of the license, not just its suspension," the spokesman for the regulator's Siberian branch said.
Yuzhkuzbassugol, one of the country's largest coal producers, owns the Yubileinaya mine which was hit by an explosion that killed 39 miners last Thursday, as well as the Ulyanovskaya mine, where 110 people died in a blast on March 19.
The official said: "This is an unprecedented decision on the part of the agency." The regulator will conduct unscheduled inspections of all mines that belong to Yuzhkuzbassugol, he said.
Aman Tuleyev, governor of the coal-rich Kemerovo Region, earlier warned that the license revocation could have a negative impact on the social and economic situation in the region.
The governor said 20,000 miners were employed at Yuzhkuzbassugol's mines, and they could lose their jobs for a year if the license is revoked and the company, with a new management, applies for a new license after dealing with safety violations at the mines.
Evraz Group, which controls 50% of Yuzhkuzbassugol said last week it was prepared to buy out the remaining stock in the company currently held by the management and start modernization of the assets to avoid future accidents.
