Black coal, thin pickings: China’s miners face decline

A coal factory in Mentougou, on the outskirts of Beijing. -AFP

MENTOUGOU, CHINA: The global fight against climate change and Beijing’s efforts to combat choking pollution have been a disaster for Lu Fanyuan.

Facing unemployment after years working with explosives deep in a coal mine on the outskirts of the Chinese capital, Lu has little hope of finding another job, no rights to farmland in his rural hometown, and fears he is dying of occupational disease.