China's August coal output falls 7.7% amid safety focus after accidents

BEIJING: China’s coal production fell 7.7% from a year earlier in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, extending a decline that has followed heightened safety scrutiny after two deadly mining accidents this year. China produced 361.82 million metric tons of coal in August, the data showed. That was up from 343.21 million tons in July. Output over the first eight months of the year was 3.06 billion tons, down 3.3% compared with the same period of last year. Safety concerns remained elevated after a gas explosion at a coal mine in Lianyuan, in Hunan province, on August 14 killed seven people and injured one, according to state media. That followed the Liushenyu mining accident in Shanxi province in May, China’s deadliest mining accident in 17 years, which killed 82 people and sparked mine inspections and closures across the province.‑Reuters