 The government wants to introduce a fast-track payment system |
More than �300m has been paid out to former miners and their families in south east Wales over the past five years. Seven constituencies are in the top 25 regions in the UK for compensation to men with respiratory disease and vibration white finger.
The UK Government has made 42,500 payments across the valleys.
A spokesman for the group monitoring Welsh claims welcomed the progress but said there was "a long way to go".
Across Britain, the government has paid �2.3bn in compensation to date, industry minister Nigel Griffiths announced.
 | Top seven Welsh payout areas Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney - �52.8m Ogmore - �51.3m Rhondda - �49.6m Cynon Valley - �48.1m Caerphilly - �40.9m Islwyn - �35.3m Blaenau Gwent - �34.3m |
"These figures show the impact of the payments on the economy of coalfield communities.
"The government is honouring the debt to former miners who sacrificed their health to power this country."
The Welsh constituency with the highest compensation payments so far is Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, with �52.8m, followed by Ogmore with �51.3m.
Bleddyn Hancock, general secretary of mining organisation NACODS and a member of the Coal Health Claim Monitoring Group for Wales, welcomed the announcement.
He told BBC Wales' news website: "There is progress but we have an awful long way to go. One of the problems we've had was to get the government to accept the urgency."
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