Fewer mining accidents despite higher output

China’s mining sector had fewer accidents and a lower death toll last year, despite the country’s coal production reaching a record high, according to the National Mine Safety Administration.

A total of 356 accidents happened in mines across the country last year, a year-on-year decrease of 16 percent. The number of people killed fell by 12.7 percent to 503.

Zhang Xin, the administration’s deputy head, said the decreases happened amid a challenging situation for safe production, which was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in coal output.

Coal production in China last year was a record 4.1 billion metric tons, up 5.7 percent year-on-year.

Zhang said the death rate for every 1 million tons of coal produced dropped by 24 percent from a year earlier to 0.044.