China's mine safety regulator has issued new guidelines requiring state-owned coal companies to strengthen safety management, with a focus on leadership accountability, technical authority, risk prevention among others.

The document was issued by the National Mine Safety Administration on September 8, 2026, to coal-producing provinces, autonomous regions and relevant central enterprises.

It called on state-owned coal mining enterprises to strengthen the professional capabilities of their leadership teams. Coal producers must ensure management teams include personnel with relevant professional backgrounds and practical experience.

Group headquarters must assign board members to oversee mining technology and production safety, while subsidiaries are urged to strengthen professional leadership teams, prioritizing candidates with coal-related academic credentials or long-term experience in coal production and operations management.

The rules require group companies to establish technology management systems led by chief engineers, granting them final decision-making authority on major technical matters. Major disaster control and key safety engineering plans cannot proceed without approval at the designated level.

Safety responsibility systems must cover all employees, with group companies required to hold safety office meetings quarterly and mine-level parent companies monthly. Group leaders must conduct on-site safety inspections at mines at least twice a year, with parent companies required to do so monthly.

The guidelines mandate that group companies conduct safety inspections covering all coal subsidiaries every six months, sampling no less than 20% of mines under each subsidiary. Parent companies must inspect all their mines quarterly.

State coal firms must establish databases for major accident hazards and set up a direct reporting system for accident hazards, improve closed-loop management channels covering hazard detection, on-site feedback, rectification, acceptance and reward distribution for frontline workers, and strengthen internal reward mechanisms to protect employees' rights when reporting hazards voluntarily.

Companies should also leverage internal training resources, build practical operation bases and adopt digital tools including big data and artificial intelligence, to reinforce accident case studies and warning education. The regulator also urged mining groups to organise skills competitions and establish long-term mechanisms to cultivate master craftsmen.

Safety investment must be guaranteed, with emergency procurement channels established for urgent mine safety needs. Companies are required to upgrade equipment and implement full lifecycle management systems for mining equipment and materials.

The guidelines push for intelligent mining development, including pilot demonstration of unmanned operations and remote intervention in underground mines, plus autonomous haulage trials at open-pit operations. Companies should accelerate adoption of robots for high-risk tasks such as drilling, roadway repair and coal chute clearing.

Geological surveys of hidden disaster-causing factors must be conducted regularly, and parent companies must proactively implement output cuts or suspensions when they identify strained mining continuity conditions, and adjust operational and assessment targets accordingly.

Emergency response capabilities must be improved through annual full-staff training and semi-annual drills. All workers must have authority to order evacuations when accident warning signs appear.

And when an accident occurs at a coal mine, personnel at the scene must immediately report to the mine's leadership, who must then notify county-level or above government coal mine safety regulators and the provincial office of the National Mine Safety Administration within one hour. For major or above accidents, direct reporting to provincial coal mine safety authorities and the National Mine Safety Administration's provincial offices is permitted.