The Henan provincial government has urged coal mines to tighten methane control measures for the fourth quarter, as part of broader efforts to shore up production safety.

The provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology held a meeting on September 18 on methane control technology and fourth-quarter work, according to a statement on its website.

The meeting noted that coal mine safety in the province has been generally stable this year, but some mines still have prominent shortcomings in outburst prevention measures, ventilation management, methane control, mining layout, on-site management and safety monitoring, leaving the safety situation still severe and complex.

The meeting called for strict implementation of methane control measures, including the comprehensive outburst prevention systems, and stronger ventilation system management to address problems at the root.

Mines were also urged to optimize mining and production design to coordinate extraction and disaster control, standardize safety monitoring systems by prohibiting tampering, blocking or shutting down monitoring equipment and any manual intervention in monitoring data, and strengthen full-process underground fire prevention and control.

Coal companies were required to accelerate the final phase of a three-year action plan for methane control technology, promote the application of research results, and reinforce the primary responsibility of state-owned key mines to stabilize the province's overall safety performance.

They were also asked to choose methane utilization paths suited to actual conditions, follow the principle of extracting as much as possible and using as much as possible, and ensure annual utilization targets are met.

For the fourth quarter, the meeting urged closed-loop rectification of problems identified in the major safety screening, standardized management of methane grade verification to ensure authentic data and accurate conclusions, and mine-by-mine and face-by-face demonstration of targeted treatment plans for outburst-prone mines.

It also called for solid efforts to address prominent coal mine safety problems, push for the successful conclusion of the three-year action plan, and ensure emergency duty arrangements during the upcoming "double festivals" holiday period.