China's Inner Mongolia issues strict mine-safety guidelines

The ten rules issued on July 10 cover "the entire construction and production cycle of coal mines ... ensuring that mine safety supervision leaves no blind spot or regulatory gaps", commented Beifangxinbao, a regional news outlet headquartered in Inner Mongolia.

The rules order miners to operate "in one-hundred-percent compliance with" government requirements for mine construction, mining work, workforce management and sub-contracting behaviour. They also involve guidelines on disaster prevention, emergency response and management of closed mine sites, according to government documents seen by Mysteel Global.

Alongside the regulations on coal mine operations, Inner Mongolia also published ten similar rules for miners of other commodities.

Inner Mongolia's move is in line with local and central government efforts to optimize mine safety management after the late May underground mine explosion in Shanxi that killed over 80 miners, the heaviest death toll for any mining accident nationwide in recent years, as reported.

In the ensuing investigation of the accident, inspectors reported that the mine operators had committed multiple illegal violations, including concealed workface mining, unauthorized sub-contracting and false registers of miners underground.

Following the accident, authorities across China's major mining hubs ordered operations at many coal mines suspended for safety inspections, seriously crimping domestic coal availability, as reported.

Many market players expect the supply tightness to persist in the second half of the year, as authorities exert pressure on mine managements via frequent inspection campaigns. Earlier on July 6, Inner Mongolia authorities initiated a 100-day campaign cracking down on illegal operations in the mining sector, according to a statement from Inner Mongolia's Mine Safety Administration.

Written by Adrian Zhou, zhouwenhaoa@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com