The National Key Laboratory of Coal Fine Exploration and Intelligent Development (hereinafter referred to as the Laboratory), formerly the State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, was established with the approval of the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2006. In 2023, according to the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on state key laboratory system restructuring decision deployment, the Lab was restructured through "production-study-research-utilization" integrated innovation systems with advantage strength of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), China University of Mining and Technology as well as Shaanxi Coal Chemical Industry Group co., LTD and renamed the National Key Laboratory of Coal Fine Exploration and Intelligent Development. Its Xinjiang Base will soon be established relying on Xinjiang Institute of Engineering in 2024. The Laboratory has fixed assets of 700 million RMB, more than 1,583 pieces of large instruments and equipment, and a site of 51,367 square meters.

The Laboratory always adheres to the principle of Party building guidance and the Party management of talents, actively plays the leading role of Party building, and comprehensively strengthens the construction of talent teams, so that the construction of talent teams presents a good development trend. The Laboratory has formed a high-level research team with academic leaders of academicians, Yangtze River Scholars, national Outstanding Talents Program leaders, national 973,863, chief scientists of key R & D Program and other project leaders.

The Laboratory has a total of 348 people, including 292 researchers, 11 managers and 45 technicians. Young talents under 405 account for 64.4%, with 47 female accounting for 13.5%. Among the research team members, there are 2 academicians of Chinese Academy of Engineering and 1 foreign academician of Russian Academy of Engineering, 2 innovation groups of the State Foundation Committee, 1 "Innovation Team in Key Areas" of the Innovative Talent Promotion Plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology, 5 innovation teams of the Ministry of Education, 2 winners of the National Innovation First Award, 6 winners of the National Outstanding Youth Fund, 7 Yangtze River Scholars, 5 entitled "ten thousand plan" talents, 5 "New Century Millions Talent Project" national candidates, 5 national outstanding youth science fund winners, 2 enlisted in the Ministry of Education young Yangtze scholars program, 4 "Ten Thousand Plan" young talents, 6 China youth technology award winners, 5 awarded the Sun Qi Energy award, and 1 national excellent engineer team.

The Laboratory insists on carrying out organized scientific research around the concept of "Master of the Country", and strives to build an innovative highland for the integrated development of basic theory, cutting-edge technology and industrial application. Through innovation and development of transparent geology and fine exploration technology, the Laboratory establishes perfect coal intelligent safety development theory and technology system, breakthroughs coal intelligent and efficient sorting technology, improves the Chinese coal green intelligent mining and ecological restoration technology focusing on the Yellow River basin, and improves the coal resources development of refinement, transparent, safe, low carbon, ecological level, so as to provide technical supports for the national energy security and realization of "double carbon" strategy goal.

The Laboratory has established cooperation with the International Committee for Coal and Organic Petrology, the U.S. Federal Geological Survey, the Illinois Geological Survey, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Cardiff University, Moscow University, Charles University, Belgium HP University, Australian CIRSO, the University of Nottingham, the University of Illinois, the University of California Berkeley and other schools and institutions through academic exchanges among scholars. And it has successfully held many international academic conferences.