Liupanshui in Guizhou province is advancing smart coal mine development in karst terrain, using digital technologies to upgrade its traditional energy industry.

The city in western Guizhou, situated on the slopes of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, is a typical karst region and one of the few areas in southwestern China with significant coal reserves. Its proven coal resources stand at 25.64 billion tonnes, accounting for more than one-third of the province's total. With large reserves, a full range of coal types and high quality, Liupanshui is a key part of China's 14 major coal bases and the largest primary coking coal base south of the Yangtze River, earning it the title of "coal capital of Jiangnan".

The complex geological structure of karst terrain, high construction difficulty and limited conditions for intelligent upgrading have long been core challenges constraining the smart upgrade of coal mines in southwestern China.

In 2025, a project titled "High-Quality Data Set for the Intelligent Coal Mine Industry in Karst Terrain", jointly filed by China Mobile Liupanshui branch and China Mobile Big Data (Guiyang) Innovation Research Institute, was selected for a national pilot task on high-quality data sets.

The achievement stems from real-scenario data accumulated during trial operation of a "5G plus smart mine" project jointly built by China Mobile Liupanshui branch and the Shanjiaoshu south shaft area of Guizhou Desheng Energy Development Co., Ltd.

The Shanjiaoshu south shaft area was completed and put into operation in 2017. It had previously established two ring network systems for methane monitoring and auxiliary intelligent systems, but the subsystems operated independently and failed to achieve centralized control. In July 2024, China Mobile Liupanshui branch and the Shanjiaoshu south shaft area launched the "5G plus smart mine" project. Based on a core concept of "one industry private network plus one intelligent platform plus multiple scenario applications plus AI empowerment", the project built an integrated architecture covering terminals, networks, platforms and applications.

The project has completed network ring deployment, smart platform construction and debugging of multiple subsystems, with good trial operation results. Once fully operational, it will enable intelligent centralized control and data interconnection across ventilation, drainage, electromechanical and firefighting systems, effectively overcoming the difficulties of intelligent upgrading in karst terrain mines and achieving the multiple goals of reducing personnel, improving efficiency and ensuring safety.

The selection of the data set project reflects national recognition of Liupanshui's mine digitalization achievements and provides replicable experience for smart upgrading of coal mines in karst mountainous areas nationwide, with important industry demonstration significance.