China: Stricter safety checks re-suspend coking coal mines in Shanxi

• Daily raw coal output from restarted mines falls 36% from late May
  
  
• Recent checks focus on miners' use of hidden mining tunnels
  
  

Mysteel Global: In Shanxi, China's top coal-producing province, some coking coal mines suspended operations again on 11 June after only a few days of resumption, underscoring the uneven pace of coal supply recovery as Beijing's recent crackdown on illegal mining activities continued to reverberate through the sector, Mysteel learnt.

Mysteel's latest survey showed that the number of restarted coking coal mines in the province declined to 77 as of Thursday morning, down from 81 mines one day before. The province's total coking coal production capacities resumed by the same day fell by 6.85 million tonnes (mnt)/year to 90.45 mnt/y, according to the survey results.

This marks the first decline in the total number of resumed mines since late May, interrupting a slow but steady supply recovery from the deadly mine disaster in Shanxi's Qinyuan county on 22 May.

The fatal mine accident, which killed 82 underground workers and injured over 120 others, triggered extensive mine inspections in Shanxi, causing coking coal supplies to tighten, as reported. Since mines began resuming operations five days after the accident, Mysteel has been closely monitoring and tracking the pace of production restarts.

New suspensions at the mines could be associated with the escalating safety oversight by central authorities, although the exact reason cannot be immediately verified. According to sources, 24 central safety inspection teams have been dispatched to China's 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities beginning in June, tasked with conducting both overt and covert inspections throughout the second and third quarters of this year.

A key focus for recent checks is the hidden mining tunnels that have been a main practice by miners to boost production beyond approved capacities and maximise profit margins. The behaviour, however, also comes with multiple safety hazards, such as excessive gas concentration, roof collapse, and water inrush risks.

As of Thursday, the mine restarts accounted for 57.1% of the combined capacities of the total suspended 137 mines in Shanxi since 23 May, Mysteel Global calculated.

The daily raw coal production of these resumed mines sat at 214,000 tonnes (t)/day on Thursday, tumbling by 118,500 t/d or 35.6% from their pre-suspension levels, Mysteel's survey results indicated.

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