China's August coal output drops 7.7% as safety scrutiny tightens after deadly accidents

China's coal output declined 7.7% year-on-year in August, official data showed on Tuesday, as heightened safety scrutiny continued to weigh on production following two deadly mining accidents this year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the country produced 361.82 million metric tons of coal in August. That was higher than July's 343.21 million tons, but still below the level recorded a year earlier.

For the first eight months of 2025, cumulative output reached 3.06 billion tons, a fall of 3.3% compared with the same period last year.

The decline comes amid sustained safety concerns in the coal sector. On August 14, a gas explosion at a mine in Lianyuan, Hunan province, killed seven people and injured one, state media reported.

That incident followed the Liushenyu mining accident in Shanxi province in May, which killed 82 people and was the country's deadliest mining disaster in 17 years. The tragedy prompted inspections and closures of mines across Shanxi.

The August figures suggest that safety-related disruptions have continued to affect output even as monthly production recovered from July's lower level.