China's coal-rich province reports rising raw coal output

TAIYUAN, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's coal-rich province of Shanxi saw its raw coal output reach nearly 933.66 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2024, according to local authorities.

The coal output in Shanxi, the country's largest coal-producing region, accounted for about 26.9 percent of China's total during the January-September period, said the provincial statistics bureau.

In September, the province produced over 118 million tonnes of raw coal, setting a new monthly record for this year.

Over the years, Shanxi has continued to upgrade its coal industry. In 2023, the province established 118 intelligent coal mines and introduced smart technology to 1,491 mining faces.

As of now, over 50 percent of Shanxi's coal production capacity is achieved via intelligent mining. Moreover, 30 pilot and demonstration coal mines using green mining practices have been established across the province.

In 2023, the province produced over 1.37 billion tonnes of coal, and it has set a production target of about 1.3 billion tonnes for this year.  ■