Many mines in northern Shanxi province are exceeding certified capacity to meet soaring demand, threatening efforts to improve safety conditions, the China Daily said, citing Wang Shenzhen, head of the province's coal bureau.

Wang told the paper that past serious disasters were believed to have been linked to overproduction.

A total of 124 people died in 46 mine accidents in Shanxi in the first six months of the year, but that number is down 22 percent from the same period last year, the report said.

"Overproduction has been a long-time threat to mine safety in Shanxi," the China Coal Institute's head of energy and safety, Liu Wenge, was quoted as saying.

The province supplies a quarter of China's coal and its production increased by 14 percent year-on-year to top 330 million tonnes in the first half of 2008, the report said.

But voracious consumption across the country means even Shanxi is facing a coal shortage of as much as 200 million tonnes, it said.

The coal supply shortfall has forced many regions to reduce electricity generation and more than a dozen provinces have had to ration power, the China Daily added.

Officials said in June they expected maximum daily power shortages of 10 million kilowatts in summer, when demand spikes due to the increased use of air-conditioning.

China's coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with safety standards often ignored in the quest for profits and the drive to meet demand for coal -- the source of about 70 percent of China's energy.

Nearly 3,800 died in Chinese coal mines last year, but that was down 20 percent from the year before, according to official figures.

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