Northeast China coal mine accident kills nine, injures 10 after earthquake

A coal mine accident in China’s northeastern Jilin province on late Sunday left nine dead and 10 injured, said a local district government in a statement.

** That makes for the third fatal mining accident in China in less than a month, indicating poor safety conditions in the country’s mines despite frequent inspections

** The accident occurred following a minor earthquake measured at 2.3 magnitude, according to the statement

The coal mine is operated by Longjiapu Mining Co, a subsidiary of state-backed Liaoyuan Mining Group, and has an annual capacity of 3 million tonnes

** Production at Longjiapu has been halted after the accident, and as yet there is no timeline for a restart, a representative of the coal mine told Reuters

** Thermal coal prices on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange rose 0.9% to 587 yuan ($84.67) a tonne on Monday