Photo taken on Dec. 7, 2020 shows a worker managing on a site of a coal seam gas company in Nanyangpo Village, Shouyang County, north China's Shanxi Province. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)

Shanxi, a major coal-producing province in north China, has so far developed 118 intelligent coal mines, the provincial energy bureau said Tuesday.

In 2023, Shanxi started intelligent transformation projects focusing on existing coal mines with an annual production capacity of more than 1.8 million tonnes, while also building some new mines, resulting in the development of a total of 81 intelligent coal mines in the province last year.

The province will this year start the intelligent transformation of coal mines with an annual production capacity of more than 1.2 million tonnes and also focus on intelligent transformation of coal mines with disaster risks. A total of 150 new intelligent coal mines will be developed across the province in 2024.

Shanxi is an important comprehensive energy base in China, and is also the first province to pilot an energy revolution. Shanxi has made efforts in recent years to promote the integration of the coal industry and digital technologies.

Shanxi achieved raw coal output of nearly 680 million tonnes in the first half of 2023. The province set a coal production target of around 1.37 billion tonnes for 2023.