China's Coal Mine Safety Problem Is Back at the Worst Time

  • Inspections could slow production growth just as imports drop
  • Energy price spike threatens China’s inflation outlook
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A spate of deadly coal mining accidents to start the year is raising the specter of output-dampening safety checks in China just as global supply is tightening.

Authorities in the coal hub of Yulin this week ordered a mine to be shut after discovering its license had expired and finding safety hazards on site, according to a notice from the city’s energy bureau posted on WeChat by industry publication Thermal Coal Today. Yulin is the center of mining activity in Shaanxi province, China’s third-biggest producing region.