Inner Mongolia plans to shut down 65 coal mines with a combined capacity of 54.1 million tonnes by 2020, a local official said Tuesday.

Wang Bingjun, head of the regional commission of economy and information technology, said 23 unlicensed coal mines have been ordered to close or stop construction.

Other mines have been ordered to run at 84 percent of their production capacity, resulting in 10.4 percent reduction in output.

During the next five years, the region also plans to cut steel capacity by 3.1 million tonnes, said Wang.

The commission has not approved any new steel mills in nearly three years, added Wang.

Source : XINHUA