Around 50 percent of coal mines in China's Inner Mongolia region, the region with the largest coal reserves in the country, have closed down or have temporarily suspended production operations, with the loss of almost 100,000 jobs, as reported by China Daily on June 10.
Accordingly to analysts, the slow growth of China's economy has resulted in sluggish demand for coal, dragging down coal prices in China and causing many medium-sized and small coal mines to go bankrupt.
According to the data issued by the Statistics Bureau of Inner Mongolia, the average pithead price of thermal coal in Inner Mongolia was RMB 142.12/mt ($22.9/mt) in April this year, down around nine percent compared to early 2014.