TAIYUAN, Mar. 16 -- The Shanxi provincial government plans to have more small coal mines merge into large-scale companies and reduce the number of coke enterprises to 60 by 2015, sources reported.

The industry's total capacity will be capped at 120 million tons as part of the government's effort to restructure and revitalize the coke industry in the province.

A total of 20 million tons of obsolete coke production capacity will be phased out by the end of 2011, with the number of coke enterprises being reduced to 150.

At the end of 2008, Shanxi had more than 270 coke enterprises with a combined capacity of nearly 160 million tons.

Shanxi's coke output accounted for 40% of the country's total and 18% of the world's total. The province's coke exports accounted for 80% of China's total.