The city of Changzhi in Shanxi province has ordered stricter coal mine safety inspections and a push to resume production at suspended mines, as part of broader efforts to balance energy security with safe output.

At a meeting on September 7, Changzhi's Party Secretary Ding Xiaoqiang stressed the need to enforce work safety responsibility systems, deepen special rectification of coal mine risks and hazards, and steadily resume operations at mines that have passed safety checks.

The meeting reviewed progress on the city's coal mine safety risk rectification campaign and analyzed safety conditions in coal, coal chemicals and other key sectors.

Authorities will fully implement Shanxi's new 17-point rules coordinating coal industry development and safety, crack down on illegal and non-compliant operations, and improve the quality of rectification efforts.

The city will also advance the resumption of production at suspended mines on a mine-by-mine basis, pushing forward safety rectification acceptance checks to maintain stable coal production capacity.

Daily supervision will be strengthened across mining, non-coal mining, coal chemicals, metallurgy and trade sectors, with greater use of technology to eliminate outdated and unsafe equipment and accelerate safety standardization certification.

Officials were urged to improve safety supervision systems, build new oversight platforms and enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of law enforcement.

Sxcoal data showed that as of September 8, 19 coal mines in Changzhi remained suspended, involving combined capacity of 22.90 million tonnes per annum — the most among all prefecture-level cities in Shanxi.