A spate of deadly coal mining accidents to start the year is raising the specter of output-dampening safety checks in China just as global supply is tightening.

Rising prices of nickel, lithium and other materials threaten to slow and even temporarily reverse the long-term trend of falling costs of batteries.

A collapse at the Shunxun coal mine in Zhenfeng county trapped the 14 people on Feb. 25.

China will boost the production of more modern coal mines and enhance coal reserve capacity.

It’s getting increasingly difficult to transport commodities like metals since almost half of the world’s container ships no longer go to Russia.