China's coal production in July falls to levels seen during the pandemic era after a deadly accident

China's coal production in July fell to levels seen during the pandemic, according to data released by the statistics bureau on Monday. The drop was due to a heightened safety check after a fatal mining accident.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported on Monday that the coal production in China, which is the world's biggest producer, dropped 10.1% in July from the previous year to 343.21 millions metric tons.

This was the lowest monthly output reported since September 2021. This excludes the output for January and February. These are combined to "smooth the effects" of the Lunar New Year holiday which can fall in either month.

The first seven months of this year saw a total output of 2.7 billion metric tons. This is a 2.9% decrease compared to the same period in the previous year.

In May, 82?people?were?killed in a gas?explosion at?the Liushenyu?mine in Shanxi Province, the deadliest mine accident in 15 years. This forced many?mines? in the coal rich province to close for inspections.

State media reported that an initial investigation into the incident revealed that the mine used fake doors and hidden tunnels to shield certain areas from regulatory oversight.

(source: Reuters)