Establishing a georeferenced spatio-temporal database for Chinese coal mining accidents between 2000 and 2015

China is a major coal producing country, and also one of the countries which has the most serious coal mine accidents around the world. As a result of geological conditions, underground mining is the main way that coal is exploited in China; serious underground disasters and the corresponding fatality rate are much higher than is the case for surface mining. Although safer modern underground mining methods have been introduced across China, accidents still lead to fatalities and the loss of revenue in some mines. It is important to establish a georeferenced coal mine disasters (CMD) database to aid researchers and decision makers in better understanding the spatio-temporal distribution of such accidents across in China. This study has proposed a method to develop a georeferenced spatio-temporal CMD database via a geographic information system (GIS) platform based on statistical data released by the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety (SACMS) for the period between 2000 and 2015. The different levels and spatio-temporal characteristics of coal mining accidents were analyzed, and the space-time scan statistic permutation (STSSP) model was carried out to detect the CMD clusters; and finally, a spatio-temporal cluster analysis of Chinese coal mining accidents in 2000 and 2015 was conducted