Yuzhny Kuzbass Coal Company has signed a contract with British company Joy Mining Machinery for delivering of longwall mining equipment to its Lenina and Sibirginsky mines. All the equipment is custom-made and scheduled for delivery in nine months.
Yuzhny Kuzbass has been quite active lately. At the beginning of the year its opencut mine Krasnogorsky received a powerful new shovel - EKG-12 - manufactured at Ural Plant. Equipment modernisation is part of company’s long term program. In 2002 it bought an ES-20/90 shovel for the Tomusinsky open cut mine, and in 2003 one more powerful machine is planned for delivery to the Krasnogorsky mine. In 2003 the company’s total expenditures on new equipment is expected to reach about $US32.1 million.
The construction of the Vanino coal terminal with a throughput capacity of 10 million tons was temporarily postponed at the beginning of the year because of a lack of money. The terminal is going to handle coal from Elginsky deposit in Yakutia.
Vanino has natural depths of 21 meters which will allow the use of ships with tonnage of up to 160,000 tons, providing the opportunity for low cost delivery of Russian coal into the Asia-Pacific region. The planned date of 2005 for commissioning this terminal is expected to be extended for some time.
Russia plans to increase coal exports to 55 million tons in 2010. The Far East ports of Vostochny and Vanino will play a key role here. In Russia’s West the coal terminal in Ust-Luga on the Baltik, with a capacity of 10-12 million tons, will come into full scale operation in 2004.
Russian Coal Markets conference, organised by Gerard McCloskey, was held at the beginning of April in Moscow. The main thesis of most speakers is good perspectives for Russia’s coal industry, but in 10-15 years time.
The next two years will see a small increase in coal production, up to about 235 million of tons in 2005 with main hopes in foreign markets.
In the opinion of Valery Zaidenvarg, specialist of Institute of Coal Markets, interest in Russian premium coals is increasing steadily from foreign metallurgical plants. Kuzbass and Yuzhny-Yakutia coals can replace those from Australia and USA, but the main obstacles are capacity of terminals and high rail tariffs.
Coal’s share in Russia’s national energy balance is about 20%, because of cheap gas prices of around $US22. Such abnormal price disproportions will change in 5-10 years.
In 2020 gas will cost $US60-70 in the European and Ural parts of Russia and up to $US95 in the Far East. But by then another problem will arise – reconstruction and building of new generation plants.
Anatoly Yanovsky, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Energy, believes total investments until 2020 of about $US27 billion are required. Some $US18 billion more will be needed to increase coal production up to 400-450 million tons. Presently annual investment capacity of national coal industry does not exceed $US264 million.
Evgeny Dikolenko, head of coal department in Ministry of Energy, announced that in June tenders for licenses to exploit 12 fields in the Kemerovo region will be made availabel. Foreign investors are also welcome he said.
