A mine quake struck Fuli Coal Mine in Hegang city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, at 1:44 am on September 10, damaging some parts of the mining tunnel and trapping six workers underground, while two others were rescued and sent to hospital, the state media CCTV reported.
The mine, owned by Heilongjiang Hegang Mining Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Longmay Mining Holding Group, has suspended production after the incident, temporarily idling capacity of 2 million tonnes/year, Mysteel learned from sources.
While production of other subsidiaries of Longmay Group hasn't been disrupted, some privately-owned coal mines in Hegang have stopped operations, Mysteel's latest survey results showed.
Hegang hosts 17.18 million t/y of coking coal capacity in total, with 1/3 coking coal being the main product. In 2024, raw coal output of the city fell to only 8.74 million tonnes, slumping by 33.7% from the 13.18 million tonnes produced a year earlier, the local official data showed.
In May last year, a fatal mine accident occurred at another mine under Heilongjiang Hegang Mining company due to poor safety management and misconduct, which claimed the lives of five workers and injured four. Mining safety checks were tightened after the accident, Mysteel Global noted.
In the recent couple of years, although most state-run coal mines in Hegang have maintained normal production, local private mines have been suffering tougher operational straits due to the coking coal market downturn, which kept their operating rates at low levels.
As of September 10, offering prices for 1/3 coking coal in Hegang ranged from Yuan 950-1,040/tonne ($133-146/t), on a free-on-rail basis and including the 13% VAT, Mysteel learned.