Over 60 pct of China's coal production capacity uses smart technology by end of 2025

More than 1,000 coal mines in China have adopted intelligent systems, as their application expands from pilot projects to large-scale deployment, the China National Coal Association said recently.

Statistics show that by the end of 2025, a total of 1,066 coal mines nationwide have introduced smart systems, with such technologies now supporting more than 65 percent of the country's coal production capacity. The number of autonomous mining trucks in operation surpassed 4,000 units, roughly doubling on an annual basis.

The rapid adoption of smart mining is driven by robust domestic capabilities in intelligent equipment and technology. In Beijing, a newly deployed underground Internet of Things (IoT) precision positioning and management system links workers, positioning cards and operating zones, while also enabling health monitoring. Its core technologies and components are fully domestically developed and have been applied in coal mines and coal preparation plants. "This underground positioning system we've developed has a positioning deviation of less than 20 centimeters when a person or device is stationary. Even when a person or device is moving at high speeds, the margin of error remains minimal. A single device can cover a radius of 800 meters," said Wu Fengdong, general manager of China Coal Beijing Coal Mining Machinery Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Coal Group Corporation.

Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), cumulative investment in smart mining has exceeded 107.1 billion yuan (about 15.6 billion U.S. dollars), with intelligent technologies now widely applied, accelerating the shift from traditional mining to modern, technology-driven extraction.

Over 60 pct of China's coal production capacity uses smart technology by end of 2025

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:08 p.m. Sunday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the China Manned Space Agency announced on Saturday.

Zhang Jingbo, spokesman of the agency, announced the launch schedule while briefing the media on the main tasks of the Shenzhou-23 mission.

"As evaluated and decided by the mission headquarters, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:08 p.m. on May 24 (Beijing Time). The crew consists of astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, with Zhu being the commander," Zhang said.

The three astronauts, Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying will take over control of China's Tiangong space station from the Shenzhou-21 crew who are currently in orbit.

"Astronaut Zhu Yangzhu previously took part in the Shenzhou-16 manned space mission. Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, from China's third and fourth batches of astronauts respectively, are making their first spaceflight. Zhang Zhiyuan was a pilot from Air Force. Lai Ka-ying worked for Hong Kong Police Force," Zhang said.

Notably, one astronaut from the Shenzhou-23 crew is set to conduct a year-long stay in orbit, while the other two will spend about six months in space.

The combination of the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket was transferred to the launching area on May 16, with pre-launch function checks and joint tests being conducted to ensure its mission readiness.

China to launch Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship on Sunday