A Spatial-Temporal Exploration of Coordination Failures Preceding Coal Mine Explosion Accidents in China

Abstract

Coal remains a crucial component of China’s energy supply, with production exceeding half of the global output in 2023. Despite safety improvements, the fatality rate in coal mining rose significantly, underscoring ongoing safety challenges. A total of 174 coal mine explosion investigation reports from China between 2000 and 2024 were analyzed, extracting and mining text related to coordination failures. The texts were categorized by time and region, creating two temporal datasets (2000–2018 and 2019–2024) and six regional datasets (Northeast, East, Central South, Southwest, Northwest, and North China). Using frequent itemset mining and social network construction, the concept of risk propagation was applied to identify the critical paths that lead to coal mine explosions. Over time, coordination failures in China’s coal mine explosions have evolved from localized issues among a few stakeholders to complex, multi-layered challenges involving broader governmental oversight and systemic management issues. Based on regional findings, balancing the frequency and severity of penalties, ensuring meaningful safety inspections, and alleviating the policy pressure on small coal mines are key points for addressing coordination failures.