China: Coking coal mine restarts in Shanxi remain slow, suspended capacity increases

• Only 1 mine resumes production in Qinyuan county, the site of explosion
  
  
• Frequent safety inspections delay steady recovery in coal production
  
  

Mysteel Global: Coking coal mine resumptions in North China's Shanxi province remain slow, with no signs of meaningful recovery emerging in the past week, while a few additional mines have been suspended, according to Mysteel's latest status survey in the province.

Mysteel's latest survey found 165 coking coal mines in Shanxi were either previously halted or still closed as of July 1, following the fatal mine accident in late May, 5 more than the survey results one week before. The combined capacity affected also increased to 218.7 million tonnes (mnt)/year from 199.4 mnt/year a week prior, the survey indicated.

Among these, 95 mines had resumed production by 1 July, up by 5 on week, and the capacity brought back online also increased to 125 mnt/year from the week prior's 112.9 mnt/year. By 1 July, the number of mines that were still suspended operations also rose from 67 to 70, with the idled capacity rising by 7.2 mnt/year to 93.7 mnt/year, according to survey results.

The simultaneous increase in both resumed and halted capacities in Shanxi reflects ongoing fluctuations in coking coal supply from the province, as frequent safety inspections continue to trigger repeated suspensions and resumptions at local mines, Mysteel Global noted.

The survey also showed that the newly suspended capacity mainly came from Lvliang city, where some mines halted production for self-checks. Meanwhile, a mine with an annual capacity of 12 mnt in Lvliang's Xingxian county was halted for longwall moves, which reflects normal operational scheduling.

In Qinyuan county, the site of the mine explosion, still only one coking coal mine resumed production by 1 July, while the remaining 19 mines stayed halted, unchanged from two weeks ago.

Although two other mines in Qinyuan have passed safety inspections, their restarts are still pending approval, as reported. Sources lately noted that one of them is seeking approval for re-inspection by local authorities, which is expected to take four to five days. If approved, the mine could resume operations and bring its 2.1 mnt/year capacity back online.

Note: This article has been published in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.