China: Coal production of top 10 firms up 5% y-o-y in Jan-May’25

• Top 10 coal firms’ output assessed at 982.2 mnt
• Coal output of firms in Shanxi rise by up to 20%

Mysteel Global: China’s top 10 coal mining companies saw their combined production reach 982.2 million tonnes over the first five months of this year, up by 5.3% from the same period of 2024, according to the recent data released by the China National Coal Association (CNCA). Their total raw coal production accounted for 49.2% of total domestic output over the January-May period.

Specifically, the Beijing-based state-owned China Energy Investment Corporation remained the country’s largest coal producer, mining 254.27 million tonnes during the first five months, although the figure was lower by a small 1.4% from the same period last year.

Notably, three coal companies headquartered in North China’s Shanxi province – namely Lu’an Chemical Group, Jinneng Holding Group, and Shanxi Coking Coal Group – recorded large increases of 14.3% to 20.6% in on-year output, contributing the most to the overall increase from January-May last year, Mysteel Global observed.

The steep rises in on-year output among the Shanxi-based coal firms reflected the low basis of comparison last year when stringent inspections conducted by provincial authorities during February-May last year as part of a crackdown on mining activities beyond mines’ approved capacity – had disrupted production at local coal mines.

While overproduction was common among coal mines in Shanxi, many coal companies significantly reined-in their production early last year to cooperate with the inspections, as reported.

During last month, the top 10 companies produced 199 mnt of coal, up by 3.7% from their April production, Mysteel Global calculated based on the CNCA data. In tandem, data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics shows that the country’s total coal output among all mines also rose 3.6% on month in May to 403.28 million tonnes, as Mysteel Global reported.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.