Posted on 28 Mar 2025
The central government authority supervising safety monitoring at Chinese mines has introduced new measures to standardize inspection processes and to curb what is often seen by mining firms as arbitrary enforcement in the coal and other mining sectors, a move aimed at reducing the impact of safety checks on mining operations.
In a directive issued last week, the National Mine Safety Administration (NMSA) instructs mine safety authorities at all levels of government – local, city, and provincial – to strictly adhere to enforcement procedures and to avoid "excessive" and arbitrary inspections.
The measures seek to address problems where frequent but superficial safety checks disrupt coal mining companies' operations without effectively identifying major potential hazards or adequately instructing on improvement. Excessive inspections would overwhelm mining companies, discouraging them from proactively conducting their own safety assessments and rectifications, experts noted.
Under the new guidelines, on-site safety inspections on any mine will be limited to 12 times each year, with caps tailored by a four-tiered risk classification: high-risk coal mines will see no more than six inspections annually by NMSA's departments, while lowest-risk mines will face no more than two.
The directive also takes aim at the issue of overlapping enforcement, urging provincial safety bureaus and the NMSA's regional offices to coordinate efforts and conduct joint inspections at least once per quarter. This is intended to stamp out redundant site visits and lessen the burden on mining firms, according to the directive.
Meanwhile, the government has outlawed third-party entities, including testing firms, research institutes, and private consultants, from conducting official inspections. Only government-authorized personnel with valid enforcement credentials will be permitted to conduct regulatory checks, effectively shutting down a gray area where external organizations had leveraged safety inspections for financial gain.
In recent years, the impact of safety checks on coal production has been mitigated as the government has softened the previous safety protocol – widely regarded as extreme – whereby in the case a fatal mining accident, coal mines throughout the entire region would be required to suspend production to conduct self-checks on various risks and make rectifications accordingly. Instead, the government only holds the mine involved in the accident accountable while allowing other local mines to maintain normal operations, Mysteel Global has learned.
Still, in recent years production disruptions in the coal industry have occurred occasionally in the name if scrutinizing safety systems, as Mysteel Global has reported. With the new guidance, coal mines will be less affected by administrative disruptions, which could probably free up more supply into the market, industry watchers suggest.
However, the actual impact on coal output of the NMSA's closer vigilance is likely to be limited for now when coal supply has far exceeded demand in the post-winter, pre-summer shoulder season. In the longer term, the directive may make a bigger difference in standardizing procedures regarding mining safety inspections and supervision, helping coal companies make explicit and effective anti-hazard moves without spending too much time and effort dealing with overburdened bureaucratic administrations. After all, coal miners are not having much fun at the moment against the background of China's energy transition, Mysteel Global notes.
Source:Mysteel Global
