A new regulation aimed at mine enterprises’ primary responsibility for work safety was officially released on June 18, 2026. The National Mine Safety Administration issued the Guidance on Further Strengthening the Implementation of Primary Responsibility for Safety Production by Mine Enterprises (the “Guidance”), which systematically deploys 15 measures across four dimensions with the goal of preventing accidents.
Officials explained the background, main content, and implementation path of the Guidance. The previous guidance on coal mine enterprises’ primary responsibility, issued in July 2020, was no longer adequate due to evolving laws and regulatory reforms. This revision addresses new challenges facing mine safety.
The Guidance’s framework centers on “consolidating responsibility, controlling risks, reinforcing foundations, and strengthening emergency response.” It first requires tightening responsibilities across all levels. Mine and parent company principal leaders are designated as first persons responsible, with quantified on-site duties—for instance, non-coal mine principals must work on site no fewer than 10 working days per month, coal mine principals must conduct on-site inspections no fewer than once per month, and mine principals must lead underground shifts no fewer than five times per month. Responsibility must be detailed for every post, supported by “post understanding cards” and annual all-staff assessments. Parent companies must establish key personnel responsibility lists, with principals conducting on-site inspections of subordinate mines at least once every six months, and are forbidden from assigning production targets exceeding capacity.
For major risk and hazard control, the Guidance pushes enterprises to set up risk identification, assessment, and hierarchical management mechanisms, with a comprehensive risk assessment at least annually. A hazard database and closed-loop management must be established, with principals organizing monthly major hazard inspections and quarterly reports to local regulators. Additionally, mines must conduct a comprehensive survey of hidden disaster-causing factors every three years, and operations are prohibited in areas where such factors remain unclear or insufficiently addressed. For major disasters like gas and water hazards, zoned management and proactive prevention are required, with quantified criteria for stressed coal mines, high-slope surface mines, and tailings pond drainage structures. On-site operations will see tighter approvals and tech-driven controls; for example, coal mines must strictly follow the “one blast, three inspections” system.
The Guidance also aims to strengthen the foundation of safety production. Safety management bodies must be legally established with sufficient full-time staff; “five-post” mine managers in underground mines cannot hold concurrent posts; mines with severe hazards must create dedicated positions; and central mining enterprises and large-medium enterprises should appoint a safety director. For management systems, a dual-prevention standardized system is required, along with post-specific “understanding cards.” On technical equipment, dual-circuit or dual-power lines are mandated; small-medium mines should focus on mechanization, while large mines are to advance automation and smart technologies. Personnel training emphasizes certification; new hires must receive no fewer than 72 hours of pre-job training, and first-time certifying underground special operations personnel must possess a high school diploma or equivalent.
Emergency response is described as the “last line of defense.” Enterprises must refine emergency plans and conduct drills at least every six months, with multi-agency joint drills held before the flood season for tailings ponds above inhabited areas. Upon an accident or incident, immediate plan activation, scientific rescue, and prohibition of blind rescue and delayed, false, or concealed reporting are ordered, with on-site personnel empowered to directly order work stoppages and evacuations. Post-incident, accountability investigations and warning education are stressed; enterprises are encouraged to set up a “work safety warning education day” and organize all-staff education at least once a year.
For enforcement, the document establishes a four-layer closed-loop mechanism: enterprise self-implementation, tiered regulatory inspections, supervisory spot checks, and joint punishment with criminal-law linkage. Those gravely failing in primary responsibility and causing serious consequences will be referred to judicial authorities for criminal liability. The official indicated that this Guidance comprehensively upgrades the earlier coal mine document and, for the first time, systematically integrates requirements for both coal and non-coal mines, aiming to shift the safety governance model toward proactive prevention.