China launches three months of checks on coal mine safety

China is carrying out a new round of safety inspections on coal mines across the country from Nov. 27 until Feb. 27, the National Coal Mine Safety Administration said on Thursday. China, the world's largest coal miner and consumer, has reported six coal mine accidents since October and aims to address the poor safety record.

The checks mainly aim to crack down on miners found to be operating beyond their planned production or approved capacity. Coal mines typically rush to ramp up output between November and February to meet annual production targets. Some mines have annual targets set up according to the luna calendar, which normally starts from late January or early February.

China produced 3.06 billion tonnes of coal over the first 10 months this year, up 4.5% from the same period in 2018, according to official data