Fenwei Energy picked 66 representative thermal coal mines as monitoring sites in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia. In-depth communication with their production and sales staff allows us to create regular reports on price, operating rate, stocks, production and logistics costs of each sample mine. We thus can make quantitative research on the production and operation situations of China's thermal coal mines.

We decide the number of sample mines in each province based on its production. Priority is given to those mines that sell coal at northern ports. Most of the mines are large state-owned mines, supplemented by local and private mines. Under the same ownership, large mines will be given priority, while rational distribution of calorific value is considered for mines of the same capacity. Mines of the same capacity and ownership will be chosen to substitute those that need undergo bankruptcy regrouping. In this case, subscribers will be informed timely.

The sample coal mines currently include 21 mines in Shanxi with capacity at 110 Mtpa, 19 mines in Shaanxi at 110 Mtpa, 26 mines in Inner Mongolia at 180 Mtpa. A total of 66 coal mines are chosen in the three regions, with capacity combined at 400 Mtpa. In terms of ownership, 30 mines are state-owned, 18 local state-owned and 18 private.