The state planner for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in China has reportedly said the country will add almost 100 million tonnes of annual coal production in the second half of this year to satisfy its demand needs.

The NDRC said, according to Reuters, that the production capacity that are currently under government review for approvals exceeds 40 million tonnes. Another 70 Mt, if added, remain under construction.

The group noted that the largest coal consumer in the world has added over 140 Mt of capacity in the first half of the year, though it did not identify the end user.

The move from the commission comes just after Beijing urged its miners to increase capacity construction and ramp up existing output as demand and prices both rise for the residential and industrial sectors. In fact, Beijing said earlier this month it was releasing 10 Mt from its reserves to assist in that goal.

Reuters reported that 11 Chinese provinces reported record high power loads in July. While total power use spiked 16% year-on-year for the first half of 2021, coal output in June dropped 5% – mainly due to a jump in mine safety inspections.

According to NDRC data, as it works to remove small and outdated mines from the country’s production mix, it has about 4,700 coal mines. In 2015, that number was closer to 10,000.

Source: Reuters