After a two-year recession, steam coal consumption in 2017 increased by 1% to 7.585 billion tonnes. This ensured an increase in global electricity production by 3%, the total production increased by 40%. This is due to the stabilization of the economic situation, the growth of industrial production, electricity consumption and demand of Asian countries, compensating for the abandonment of coal in Europe and the United States, analysts of the International Energy Agency (IEA) write in the report "Coal 2018. Analysis and Forecasts".
Now the share of coal generation in electricity production is 38% and until 2023 it will remain at the current level, the review says. “Thermal coal has been at the center of discussions on energy and climate policy in recent years. More and more countries consider the elimination of coal generation as one of the key tasks of their environmental program", - experts remind. However, for growing markets, coal is the preferred and affordable source of energy. For example, coal consumption in Pakistan in 2017 increased by 52%, in Vietnam, Australia and the Philippines - by 10%, in India - by 4%.
Most Western European countries are taking action to phase out coal-fired power generation. By 2023, France and Sweden will close their last coal-fired power plants, now they consume 14 million tons and 3 million tons of coal, respectively. “Competition from renewable energy sources is constantly growing, supported by political and environmental efforts,” IEA experts describe the situation in this market. Germany will remain the only significant consumer in Western Europe - 51 million tons. Only Poland consumes more coal in Europe - 74 million tons. But in Eastern Europe there is no program of abandoning coal generation, experts emphasize.
One of the trends in the market, IEA experts call the gradual reduction of coal generation by China as part of a large-scale environmental program. The energy intensity of the Chinese economy will decrease by 2020 and stop the growth of coal generation in the world, the IEA predicts. China's coal consumption will decline at a rate of about 1% per year until 2023.
India will be the most promising market for thermal coal. The country's economy will grow by 8% per year until 2023, electricity consumption will increase by 5% annually. Demand will also grow in Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
The largest coal producer in Russia - SUEK believes that by 2040 global electricity consumption will grow by 60%. Coal generation accounts for 37%, which cannot be quickly replaced with alternative sources. But competition from renewable energy sources is growing: by 2040, the share of wind and solar energy in global electricity production may grow from 5 to 19%, follows from the annual report of SUEK. However, this will not lead to a reduction in coal consumption, SUEK is sure. For the construction of facilities of any generation, steel and cement are needed, the production of which is impossible without burning coal. Coal generation will also drive the growth of the electric vehicle market.
Coal is the most widespread (apart from wind and sun, but their use is still expensive) and the cheapest energy resource, therefore almost from the very beginning of traditional energy, coal dominates as the main fuel in the balance and it is logical to expect this share to remain in the next two decades, the ACRA analyst emphasizes. Natalia Porokhova. Traditionally, rapid industrial development begins with making the most of its own coal resources, she says. India and other countries in the region, in which industrial production is growing, will actively use coal for energy development and only then will they be ready to switch to more expensive and environmentally friendly sources, she concludes.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE COAL INDUSTRY OF UKRAINE.
MINE. MINING FIELD. RESERVES OF COAL IN THE MINING FIELD.
DIVISION OF THE MINING FIELD INTO MAIN PARTS
Main consumers of coal
The coal industry of Ukraine, despite a decrease in last years volumes of coal production, is still the main supplier of energy fuel and raw materials for the by-product coke and chemical industries. The structure of coal consumption across the country is constantly changing.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the main consumers of the products of coal mines were metallurgical plants and railways. Subsequently, in connection with the construction of thermal power plants, the transition of railways to diesel traction and their subsequent electrification, the composition of coal consumers and their specific gravity... The dynamics of these changes is presented in table. 1.1.
Table 1.1 Structure of coal consumption
Currently, coal and coal shale are used in the abrasive and electrical industries for the production of thermoanthracite and foundry powders, in the treatment of drinking and waste water, in the agglomeration of ores, in the production of semiconductor materials. During the chemical processing of coal, a large number of various products are obtained: plastics, synthetic liquid and gaseous fuels, rubber, etc. High-quality anthracites are used in the production of graphite, carbon-graphite structural materials.
In addition, coal and its enrichment wastes are used by many other industries: rubber industry (production of soot), aluminum (production of alumina from enrichment waste), building materials (when firing expanded clay, brick, cement; when using ash as a binder), etc.
Coal costs in the structure of rolled steel cost on average amount to 10–15%, therefore the availability of access to high-quality coking coal provides Russian metallurgists with leading positions in the world in terms of cost. But this is not the only reason why Russian coal miners will oust American competitors in the world coal market.
Balance benefits
"We did not get happiness from the world along a string, it is from Kuzbass, it is from Magnitka." This song is known to workers in the metallurgical industry, and it is no coincidence that Kuzbass is in the first place in this phrase. Russian coal for coking, especially coal from the Kuznetsk Basin, along with the iron ore wealth of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly, is one of the main advantages of the Russian ferrous metallurgy over foreign competitors.
The total balance reserves of coking coal grades of the A + B + C1 category in Russia were estimated at 40.8 billion tons as of January 1, 2017 - this is actually 100 years of work of the world ferrous metallurgy at a modern pace. Of these, Kuzbass coal accounts for 73% of reserves and 80% of production. In addition to the Kuznetsk Basin, the country still has large reserves of these coking coals in South Yakutia, the Komi Republic, the Rostov Region, and the Tyva Republic. Obviously, the balance reserves are significantly larger than industrial ones, that is, those available for development at current prices with current production technologies, which are estimated at 1.2 billion tons. These are the coals of the most valuable grades K, KZh, KO, OS and KS - they, together with coals of grades Zh and GZh, form the basis of the grade charge for the production of coke in Russian Federation.
Why is own coal for Russian metallurgists a saving trump card in the international struggle? There are three obvious reasons for this.
The fall of the ruble, which occurred in 2014 and continued in 2017–2018, made the Russian coal industry one of the most efficient in the world market. If in 2007 Russia was one of the most inefficient suppliers of coal to the world market due to the huge transport shoulder that Russian products had to overcome from the place of production to the port of shipment (the tariff reached $ 35-37 per ton, accounting for 30-40% of the sales price in port), then after the ruble devaluation at the end of 2019, Russia is a country with the cost of coal in ports at the level of $ 70-90 per ton, which, even against the background of a decrease in coal prices to $ 140-150 per ton, still makes mining profitable for Russian producers ... At the same time, almost all Russian metallurgical holdings are provided with their own coal production, which allows them to compensate for the costs of their metallurgical production with profits received by mining companies.
On the other hand, even without their own coal production, Russian consumers still benefit from Russian coal reserves. As a major exporter of coal, Russia actually uses world coal prices as an indicator of domestic prices. And here the gigantic distances - 4.5–5.5 thousand kilometers from the production site to the ports - play into the hands of Russian consumers. A foreign buyer of coal is interested in the price at the port of shipment, the cost of sea transportation from the main export ports to the key ports of the consuming countries does not differ significantly, thus, for Russian exporters, the price at the port on the ship is roughly the same as the price of coal of similar quality in the ports of Australia. Now let's calculate the price for the Russian consumer. First, let's subtract the cost of loading onto the ship. In Russian ports, it is higher than the average in the world, since in our country there is a shortage of port facilities for handling coal. That is, the Russian consumer already receives a price lower than a similar foreign player. Now let's subtract the cost of rail transportation to the mining site. In Russia, it is higher than in most countries of the world, since coal is not transported anywhere in the world for such distances from the open pit / mine to the port. As a result, with comparable prices for Russian and foreign coal in ports, the price at an open pit / mine in Russia, excluding the costs of transportation and loading onto a ship, will be lower than that for foreign markets, taking into account transportation from the open pit / mine to the consumer (which in Russia is also are far from the places of production, except for the metallurgists of the Kemerovo region) coal for Russian consumers costs on average $ 20-30 per tonne cheaper than their foreign competitors located close to ports, and $ 30-50 per tonne cheaper than foreign metallurgists, especially European, which are forced to deliver coal to their factories from ports.
The third factor is environmental. It is no secret that the coke-chemical production, which is a consumer of coking coal (in Russia, it is more correct to speak of coking coal concentrate, but for the sake of simplicity we will use a common name) is the main air pollutant at the metallurgical plant. Moreover, at many plants, for example, at the Moscow Coke and Gas Plant (MKGZ), the production of coke products is limited due to the proximity of a large settlement, therefore, they do not produce expensive coke products from the gas generated during the coking process, which deprives the metallurgical company of a part of the income, which could improve the economic efficiency of the enterprise.
At the same time, fines for air pollution in Russia are negligible - for example, in December 2014, after the release of harmful substances at the Moscow oil refinery, when residents of several districts of Moscow smelled hydrogen sulfide, and measurements showed a high concentration of chemical elements in the air, the court fined the plant 250 thousand . rub. Fines of the same size are applied to coke-chemical enterprises. The same MKGZ in March 2012 had to pay 40 thousand rubles for a twofold excess in the content of nitrogen and sulfur emissions. But even this fine was reduced to 30 thousand rubles. Of course, such fines do not impose financial restrictions on Russian consumers of coal products and do not require them to invest in air purification systems. At the same time, in the West, ferrous metallurgy companies are under the control of environmental activists and in case of violation of the law, they incur both costs in the form of fines, which are calculated in amounts of $ 0.5-1 million, and are spent on treatment facilities and filters. Thus, Russian metallurgists do not experience the same environmental pressure on their profitability as their foreign counterparts, which allows them to remain more efficient.
Export goods
Russian reserves of coal for coking are not only a valuable advantage of the domestic ferrous metallurgy, but also a valuable export commodity, which, during the period of peak demand for coal products, allows coal miners, mainly controlled by metallurgical companies, to earn money on the international market. If in 2007-2011 the export of coal for coking was at the level of 13 million tons, then since 2012 it has grown to 17 million tons, and by the end of 2019 it may reach 27 million tons. The main directions of sales are Ukraine, China, Japan and South Korea. At the same time, the increasing trend in Asian countries is largely associated with the recognition of the quality of Russian products. The difficult environmental situation that is developing around steel enterprises in China and other Asian regions requires local coal consumers to use higher-quality coal with a lower sulfur content, and this is what distinguishes Russian products.
As a result of the growth in the export potential of Russian coal for coking, its production also increased: in 2018 it was estimated at 88.2 million tons against 70.6 million tons in 2007, and in 2019 it may exceed 93 million tons, which will be an absolute record. coal industry in Russia for the entire period of its existence.
At the same time, Russia's own consumption of coking coal has even decreased over the past 12 years - for example, the production of metallurgical coke in Russia fell from 34 million to 27 million tons. This is due to the fact that China, India and Poland, which previously consumed Russian coke, switched to purchasing coking coal and almost abandoned Russian products.
According to the Federal Customs Service, Russian exports of coke and semi-coke in January-August 2019 amounted to about 1.9 million tons - 3.9% more than in the same period last year. If we compare these figures with the data for 2008, then we can actually notice a twofold drop in the export of these products. The refusal to use ready-made Russian coke is probably due to the transition of foreign metallurgists to lower-quality coal grades, which do not allow the production of high-quality coke without mixing with coals of other grades. In addition, Russian coke has suboptimal hot strength and reactivity indicators. With the spread of pulverized coal injection technology, when coke is partially replaced by thermal coal in a blast furnace, the requirements for the metallurgical coke remaining in the process increase significantly, which makes the use of low-quality products economically ineffective.
Valuable brands
In 2000-2007, there were often raw material wars between domestic metallurgists, when they, controlling certain deposits of raw materials (coal or ore), did not supply it to their direct competitor, which caused difficulties in the implementation of the correct mixing of coal products by the competitor and ultimately led to an increase in the cost of the final product and a decrease in its quality. The 2010s taught companies to cooperate, raw material wars are a thing of the past, but the coal market is still divided into intra-group and free. It is characteristic that the volumes of intra-group coal supplies not only did not decrease since 2007, but also increased to 14.5-15 million tons by the end of 2019 against 12 million tons in 2007. On the one hand, this is explained by an increase in production volumes by coal companies that are part of large metallurgical holdings, on the other, by the continuing distrust between metallurgical companies, which fear the renewal of raw materials wars, and therefore get used to working on guaranteed raw materials obtained from their own coal companies.
If in 2011-2013 there were attempts to purchase foreign coal, for example, from the USA or Australia, in order to test its quality or to strengthen their bargaining positions in dealing with Russian coking coal suppliers, then by 2019 only large foreign suppliers remained from Kazakhstan, who are convenient are located relative to the Russian MMK, Nizhniy Tagil MK.
Evraz remains the largest coking coal company in Russia: the mining assets of Yuzhkuzbassugol and Raspadskaya in 2019 provide up to 27% of coking coal production. Mechel ranks second with a 13% share, Severstal ranks third with a 10.5% share, and Sibuglemet is fourth with 10%. The most interesting player is the Kolmar company, which develops the Denisovskoye and Inaglinskoye fields. This company actually started from scratch the development of an extremely technologically complex area and, as a result of hard work, by the end of the year, it may reach a production level of over 7 million tons. This is coal of valuable grades Zh and K, so one can only admire the success of Kolmar, especially against the background of the activities of the Elginsky and Elegest deposits, which all business publications and analysts spoke about 12 years ago. These technically simpler deposits (excluding the road) have shown much more modest results over the past years.
Margin path
Should we expect further success in the domestic coal industry? Probably yes. Falling prices on world markets will inevitably free up market share for Russian coal miners, who will take the place of expensive American producers. The plans for the production of coking coal assume annual growth, and in the coming years it will be possible to say that the export of coking coal will catch up in terms of volumes of domestic consumption, and maybe even surpass it. Thus, the growth in the export of Russian coal, which the President of the Russian Federation spoke about, may well be not only extensive - due to the growth in the export of energy-grade coal, but also intensive - due to the growth in exports of more marginal products - coking coal.
Maxim Khudalov
2018-09-27
Priority area for the Russian coal industry, it is currently the export of coal - in 2017, the volume of export supplies for the first time in history exceeded the volume of domestic supplies. In the short term, further growth of Russian coal exports is forecasted. And today it is important to understand the position of the domestic industry relative to the main competing countries, as well as the role and place of Russian coal in the global fuel and energy market.
World coal production
Today in the world there has been an alarming trend towards a reduction in coal production. In 2013, the global coal industry reached its all-time high - the volume of coal mined in the world in that year amounted to 8,270.9 million tons. And from that moment on, coal production in the international arena began to gradually decline. In 2017, it amounted to 7,727.3 million tons (-543.6 million tons to the level of 2013, or 93.4%). Moreover, this trend was noted in almost all regions of the world, with the exception of South America and Africa, where during this period production remained at the same level and even increased slightly.
| Regions of the world | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 1 054,4 | 1 107,6 | 1 067,0 | 1 081,0 | 1 004,4 | 976,1 | 990,1 | 887,9 | 733,0 | 772,2 |
| South and Central America |
53,7 | 73,9 | 83,2 | 94,8 | 98,5 | 98,5 | 101,8 | 96,1 | 101,3 | 99,7 |
| Europe and Eurasia (including Middle East) |
1 197,1 | 1 231,8 | 1 222,6 | 1 287,3 | 1 306,9 | 1 258,8 | 1 207,7 | 1 181,7 | 1 164,7 | 1 225,1 |
| Africa | 230,5 | 250,0 | 258,9 | 257,3 | 267,2 | 267,7 | 276,7 | 266,0 | 262,8 | 270,6 |
| Asia (including Asia-Pacific, New Zealand and Australia) |
2 190,8 | 3 440,0 | 4 847,3 | 5 254,8 | 5 525,9 | 5 669,9 | 5 618,0 | 5 522,4 | 5 230,1 | 5 359,7 |
| World mining coal, total: |
4 725,6 | 6 103,2 | 7 479,1 | 7 975,4 | 8 203,0 | 8 270,9 | 8 195,7 | 7 954,2 | 7 492,0 | 7 727,3 |
| Coal producing countries | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | Share in the global coal mining,% (2017 year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 1 360,7 | 1 384,2 | 2 365,1 | 3 428,4 | 3 746,5 | 3 523,2 | 45,6 |
| India | 289,0 | 334,8 | 429,0 | 572,3 | 674,2 | 716,0 | 9,3 |
| USA | 937,1 | 974,0 | 1 026,5 | 983,7 | 813,7 | 702,3 | 9,1 |
| Australia | 248,1 | 313,9 | 378,8 | 434,4 | 504,5 | 481,3 | 6,2 |
| Indonesia | 41,8 | 77,0 | 152,7 | 275,2 | 461,6 | 461,0 | 6,0 |
| Russia | 262,8 | 257,9 | 299,8 | 323,4 | 373,4 | 408,9 | 5,3 |
| South Africa | 206,2 | 224,2 | 245,0 | 254,5 | 252,1 | 252,3 | 3,3 |
| Germany | 246,7 | 201,6 | 203,1 | 182,3 | 184,3 | 175,1 | 2,3 |
| Poland | 200,7 | 162,8 | 159,5 | 133,2 | 135,8 | 127,1 | 1,6 |
| Kazakhstan | 83,3 | 74,9 | 86,6 | 110,9 | 107,3 | 111,1 | 1,4 |
| Total: | 3 876,4 | 4 005,3 | 5 346,1 | 6 698,3 | 7 253,4 | 6 958,3 | 90,0 |
World Coal Production - Based on BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2018.
coal mining in Russia - according to the data of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "CDU TEK"
Rice. 1. Coal production by the largest coal producing countries in 2017, million tons (World coal production - according to BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2018, coal production in Russia - according to FGBU "CDU TEK") 
|
|
2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russian Federation, total: | 336 721,9 | 354 610,9 | 352 116,7 | 359 017,8 | 374 045,0 | 386 917,4 | 408 915,5 |
| underground way | 100 720,1 | 105 713,5 | 101 355,1 | 105 352,4 | 103 668,3 | 104 337,7 | 105 393,0 |
| By pools: | |||||||
| Pechora | 13 379,5 | 13 654,5 | 13 883,8 | 13 079,4 | 14 561,5 | 10 678,2 | 8 980,2 |
| Donetsk | 5 240,6 | 5 634,9 | 4 693,3 | 5 867,6 | 5 197,2 | 4 236,0 | 5 814,4 |
| Kuznetsky | 192 033,9 | 201 407,3 | 202 708,0 | 211 591,8 | 216 239,4 | 227 900,6 | 241 090,0 |
| Kansko-Achinsky | 39 639,3 | 41 545,5 | 37 303,6 | 36 177,2 | 38 245,5 | 37 389,1 | 38 347,8 |
| By federal districts: | |||||||
| Central Federal District | 258,7 | 225,4 | 268,8 | 301,8 | 287,4 | 282,3 | 237,7 |
| Northwestern Federal District | 13 523,5 | 13 767,5 | 14 023,8 | 13 218,2 | 14 681,5 | 10 798,2 | 9 100,2 |
| Southern FD | 5 240,6 | 5 634,9 | 4 693,3 | 5 867,6 | 5 197,2 | 4 236,0 | 5 814,4 |
| Volga Federal District | 296,0 | 480,0 | 569,0 | 558,6 | 217,4 | 0,0 | 208,4 |
| Ural Federal District | 2 061,5 | 1 897,2 | 1 679,6 | 1 489,8 | 1 074,4 | 995,4 | 721,0 |
| Siberian Federal District | 283 733,2 | 297 464,4 | 297 656,6 | 303 559,2 | 312 397,8 | 328 285,5 | 348 747,1 |
| By coal companies: | |||||||
| JSC "SUEK" | 92 217,6 | 97 466,5 | 96 452,4 | 98 860,4 | 97 755,7 | 105 364,2 | 107 778,3 |
| JSC HC "SDS-Ugol" | 19 321,4 | 21 518,8 | 21 995,2 | 25 516,4 | 25 447,1 | 24 579,7 | 24 660,4 |
| OJSC MC "Kuzbassrazrezugol" | 46 986,2 | 45 416,0 | 43 851,4 | 43 472,9 | 44 392,1 | 44 343,7 | 46 351,0 |
| LLC "RUK" (Novokuznetsk) | 9 268,1 | 10 789,5 | 12 541,8 | 11 546,0 | 10 231,2 | 11 182,5 | 10 967,4 |
| LLC "RUK" (Mezhdurechensk) | 6 251,2 | 7002,1 | 7823,7 | 10 202,1 | 10 351,9 | 10 511,8 | 11 435,2 |
| LLC "Company Vostsibugol" | 15 800,0 | 16 750,7 | 15 687,9 | 11 962,0 | 12 737,3 | 13 153,3 | 13 811,4 |
| PJSC UK "Southern Kuzbass" | 14 068,4 | 14 142,1 | 15 123,5 | 11 965,7 | 10 082,0 | 9 052,0 | 8 137,5 |
| PJSC "Kuzbass TC" | 8 736,0 | 8711,0 | 10 146,0 | 10 608,0 | 11 002,0 | 11 682,0 | 13 226,0 |
| JSC "Mezhdurechye" | 5 664,7 | 6 339,4 | 6 125,2 | 6 551,5 | 6 761,4 | 6 367,4 | 6 243,8 |
| JSC "Vorkutaugol" | 7 156,2 | 9 562,7 | 12 116,8 | 11 359,8 | 13 160,1 | 9 454,9 | 8 684,7 |
| LLC "MMK-Ugol" | 4 035,7 | 3 951,3 | 3 287,4 | 3 657,5 | 3 582,7 | 3 416,2 | 3 614,4 |
| JSC HC "Yakutugol" | 8 044,6 | 10028,9 | 10 033,8 | 9 472,9 | 9 147,3 | 9 905,4 | 8 346,2 |
| JSC "Mine" Zarechnaya " | 4 603,9 | 4 682,2 | 4 172,9 | 5 607,9 | 5 043,1 | 2 875,9 | 1 795,2 |
According to FSBI "CDU TEK"
|
|
1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America |
489,5 | 512,3 | 577,7 | 616,0 | 536,3 | 507,1 | 449,9 | 465,4 | 463,2 | 404,8 | 371,9 | 363,8 |
| South and Central America |
15,8 | 19,2 | 21,0 | 21,2 | 28,1 | 30,0 | 31,6 | 34,3 | 35,9 | 36,2 | 34,9 | 32,7 |
| Europe and Eurasia (including Near East) |
801,1 | 589,0 | 530,9 | 524,9 | 502,6 | 525,2 | 541,4 | 520,9 | 494,7 | 481,1 | 460,4 | 461,9 |
| Africa | 75,5 | 79,3 | 82,8 | 89,3 | 100,1 | 98,4 | 96,0 | 97,2 | 101,9 | 94,6 | 94,9 | 93,1 |
| Asia (including the Asia-Pacific region, New Zealand and Australia) |
840,4 | 1024,6 | 1 144,0 | 1 883,1 | 2 438,6 | 2 618,3 | 2 675,5 | 2 747,5 | 2 766,5 | 2 748,3 | 2 744,0 | 2 780,0 |
| Coal consumption, total: | 2 222,3 | 2 224,2 | 2 356,3 | 3 105,7 | 3 605,6 | 3 778,9 | 3 794,5 | 3 865,3 | 3 862,2 | 3 765,0 | 3 706,0 | 3 731,5 |
Based on BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2018
Rice. 2. World consumption of coal, million tons of oil equivalent. (Based on BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2018) 
|
|
1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2017 | Share in the world coal consumption, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 527,5 | 665,2 | 706,1 | 1 324,6 | 1 748,9 | 1 914,0 | 1 892,6 | 50,2 |
| India | 109,7 | 140,3 | 164,4 | 211,2 | 290,4 | 395,3 | 424,0 | 11,3 |
| USA | 459,0 | 480,9 | 540,5 | 545,7 | 498,8 | 372,2 | 332,1 | 8,8 |
| Japan | 78,0 | 84,3 | 95,5 | 114,0 | 115,7 | 119,0 | 120,5 | 3,2 |
| Russia | 182,3 | 119,4 | 105,8 | 94,6 | 90,5 | 92,1 | 92,3 | 2,4 |
| South Korea | 24,4 | 28,1 | 43,0 | 54,8 | 75,9 | 85,5 | 86,3 | 2,3 |
| South Africa | 67,3 | 71,3 | 74,6 | 80,0 | 92,8 | 83,0 | 82,2 | 2,2 |
| Germany | 131,5 | 90,6 | 85,3 | 81,3 | 77,1 | 78,7 | 71,3 | 1,9 |
| Indonesia | 3,4 | 5,4 | 13,2 | 24,4 | 39,5 | 51,2 | 57,2 | 1,5 |
| Poland | 78,4 | 70,3 | 56,2 | 55,1 | 55,1 | 48,7 | 48,7 | 1,3 |
| Total: | 1 661,5 | 1 755,8 | 1 884,6 | 2 585,7 | 3 084,7 | 3 239,7 | 3 207,2 | 85,1 |
Based on BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2018
Fig. 3. World export of hard coal, million tons of oil equivalent (Based on data from the UN Statistics Department, excluding the United States, which did not provide data for 2017) 
| Coal exporting countries | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2016 | 2017 | Share in the world coal export,% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 136 411,1 | 186 754,6 | 234 319,6 | 301 911,0 | 390 898,5 | 372 204,7 | 41,1 |
| Indonesia | 31 952,6 | 57 983,9 | 129 044,1 | 291 171,3 | 310 662,3 | 218 112,5 | 24,1 |
| Russia | 30 087,3 | 43 699,5 | 79 655,8 | 115 569,6 | 166 129,2 | 181 406,2 | 18,0 |
| Colombia | 18 273,9 | 33 567,5 | 53 662,1 | 70 530,9 | 83 353,6 | 102 713,3 | 10,2 |
| South Africa | n / a | 70 495,6 | 75 380,6 | 71 252,1 | 76 932,5 | 83 502,6 | 9,2 |
| USA | n / a | 62 339,4 | 52 352,5 | 86 933,9 | 64 090,9 | n / a | – |
| Canada | 34 179,2 | 32 422,0 | 28 163,6 | 33 278,7 | 30 245,7 | 30 441,3 | 3,4 |
| Kazakhstan | 20 767,5 | n / a | 24 138,0 | 18 246,7 | 23 854,3 | 27 136,1 | 3,0 |
| Poland | 31 868,2 | 23 236,5 | 19 370,9 | 10 551,2 | 9 080,0 | 7 072,6 | 0,8 |
| Philippines | n / a | n / a | n / a | 4 194,9 | 7 946,2 | 6 924,9 | 0,7 |
| Total: | 303 539,8 | 502 202,0 | 698 738,9 | 989 520,0 | 1 177 110,5 | 992 178,3 | 98,2 |
According to the UN Statistics Department, excluding the United States, which did not provide data for 2017
Rice. 4. Structure of world coal exports in 2016,% 
Rice. 5. Structure of Russian coal exports by destination in 2017 (According to Russian Railways) 
| Period | Export of Russian coal, million tons | Implementation cost, $ mln | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard coals | Brown coals | Export, total | Hard coals | Brown coals | Export, total | |
| 2001 | 41,5 | 0,2 | 41,7 | 1 203,6 | 3,5 | 1 207,1 |
| 2002 | 43,2 | 0,1 | 43,3 | 1 150,9 | 1,4 | 1 152,3 |
| 2003 | 60,5 | 0,1 | 60,6 | 1 721,7 | 1,9 | 1 723,6 |
| 2004 | 71,8 | 0,3 | 72,1 | 2 755,9 | 7,8 | 2 763,7 |
| 2005 | 79,7 | 0,6 | 80,2 | 3 755,7 | 13,8 | 3 769,5 |
| 2006 | 91,4 | 0,5 | 91,9 | 4 342,3 | 15,3 | 4 357,6 |
| 2007 | 98,0 | 0,6 | 98,6 | 5 354,7 | 18,1 | 5 372,8 |
| 2008 | 97,4 | 0,6 | 98,1 | 7 751,7 | 25,3 | 7 777,0 |
| 2009 | 105,1 | 0,9 | 106,0 | 7 367,4 | 30,2 | 7 397,6 |
| 2010 | 115,6 | 0,5 | 116,1 | 9 172,7 | 21,6 | 9 194,4 |
| 2011 | 110,5 | 0,8 | 111,3 | 11 372,3 | 46,5 | 11 418,8 |
| 2012 | 130,4 | 1,4 | 131,8 | 13 014,7 | 77,7 | 13 092,4 |
| 2013 | 139,0 | 1,8 | 140,8 | 11 821,2 | 88,2 | 11 909,4 |
| 2014 | 153,2 | 2,4 | 155,6 | 11 642,3 | 116,5 | 11 758,8 |
| 2015 | 152,7 | 3,4 | 156,0 | 9 480,3 | 130,3 | 9 610,6 |
| 2016 | 166,1 | 5,3 | 171,4 | 8 907,2 | 167,2 | 9 074,4 |
| 2017 | 181,4 | 8,7 | 190,1 | 13 530,0 | 393,2 | 13 923,2 |
According to the UN Statistics Department
Rice. 6. Structure of Russian coal exports by type of coal in 2017,% (According to the UN Statistics Department) 
Rice. 7. Structure of coal supplies to India by the largest exporters in 2017, million tons (According to the UN Statistics Department) 
Rice. 8. Structure of coal supplies to Japan by the largest exporters in 2017, million tons (According to the UN Statistics Department) 
Rice. 9. Structure of coal supplies to China by the largest exporters in 2017, million tons (According to the UN Statistics Department) 
Rice. 10. Structure of coal supplies to Korea by the largest exporters in 2017, million tons (According to the UN Statistics Department) 
| Importing countries | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 12 512,1 | 21 326,4 | 39 103,3 | 71 868,5 | 193 108,3 | 153 581,8 |
| Japan | 126 179,4 | 145 282,9 | 180 810,8 | 184 583,5 | 189 813,2 | 190 824,6 |
| China | 1 608,5 | 2 116,8 | 26 171,1 | 164 568,5 | 183 325,3 | n / a |
| Korea | 43 836,3 | 63 845,1 | 76 767,8 | 118 625,7 | 134 520,1 | 148 261,6 |
| Germany | 15 137,7 | 22 950,4 | 34 835,5 | 38 838,7 | 53 254,6 | 49 072,4 |
| Turkey | 4 340,2 | 13 110,2 | 17 024,0 | 6 904,9 | 36 215,8 | 38 251,1 |
| Brazil | 12 542,0 | 14 874,1 | 15 750,4 | 17 691,5 | 22 037,6 | 23 564,7 |
| Spain | 13 956,0 | 21 648,6 | 24 656,2 | 11 829,6 | 13 828,3 | 19 178,2 |
| France | 13 268,0 | 17 239,3 | 19 544,4 | 18 976,7 | 12 881,6 | n / a |
| United Kingdom | 15 942,1 | 23 792,3 | 44 443,1 | 24 295,4 | 7 634,1 | 7 498,4 |
| Total: | 259 322,3 | 346 186,1 | 479 106,6 | 658 183,0 | 846 618,9 | 630 232,8* |
According to the UN Statistics Department
* Excluding China and France, which did not report 2017 data
Rice. 11. Structure of world coal imports in 2017,% (According to the UN Statistics Department) 
On an industrial scale in the world, more than 60 countries are carried out, at the same time, for the share of 10 listed in Table. 1 states account for 90.0% of the world's coal production. Apart from these countries, not a single state in the world today extracts more than 100 million tons of coal per year, and in this prestigious club Russia takes a confident 6th place.
Over the past 20 years, the development of the coal industry of the world leaders has changed in different directions. Most countries have seen significant growth in coal production. The highest growth rate of coal production over the period under review was recorded in Indonesia (more than 10 times). Also, the volumes of coal production increased by China (2.5 times), Australia and India (more than 2 times), Russia (1.5 times), South Africa and Kazakhstan (1.2 times).
A number of world leaders reduced coal production volumes: the USA and Germany - by almost 30%, Poland - by 65%. The reasons for this situation are different. In the United States, in connection with the start of commercial production of shale gas, most of the electric power industry abandoned the use of coal and switched to gas fuel, as a result of which the demand for coal here fell sharply. European coal miners, Germany and Poland, are forced to cut production volumes under pressure from the European Union, which advocates reducing harmful emissions from coal combustion in order to protect the environment, which negatively affects the state of the economy of the hotel countries - members of the European Union (in Poland, for example, more than 90% until recently, electricity was produced at coal-fired power plants). In addition, the influence of the ecological organization Greenpeace, which also acts from an environmental standpoint, is quite strong here.
Coal mining in Russia
Despite global trends, coal production in Russia has been steadily increasing over the past years. To a certain extent, this is facilitated by the demand for Russian coal products on the world market.
In 2017, coal mining for the first time in history modern Russia exceeded 400 million tons of coal per year. The universally recognized leader in the industry is SUEK, whose enterprises mine coal all the way from Kuzbass to the Far East. Coal production in the company for the second year in a row exceeds 100 million tons. The largest coal companies in Russia also include Kuzbassrazrezugol, SDS-Ugol, Raspadskaya Coal Company (RUK), Vostsibugol.
Prospects for further growth in coal production in Russia are associated primarily with the investment attractiveness of enterprises in the industry. The total volume of investments in fixed assets of enterprises in 2017 exceeded 100 billion rubles. The annual increase in production capacity is about 10 million tons of coal per year. In addition, the favorable situation on the world coal market ensures the export sales of the increase in coal production.
Coal consumption
World coal consumption has been growing year by year and in 2014 reached its historical maximum of 3889.4 Mtoe. However, in the future, the consumption of coal in the world began to decline at a rate of 50–100 million toe. in year. The outlined negative trend continues at the present time. However, it should be noted that the reduction in coal consumption is not happening everywhere; a number of countries continue to increase their coal consumption.
Russia ranks fifth in the world among the largest coal-consuming countries. China is the undisputed leader here, providing more than half of world consumption. In total, the top ten largest coal consumers account for more than 85% of world consumption.
Coal consumption by the largest consumers varies in different ways. Consumption growth is noted in India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Indonesia. The consumption of coal in Germany, Poland and other EU countries is decreasing.
The rejection of coal fuel by many US power systems has had unpredictable consequences. Abnormally low temperatures winter period 2017–2018 led to increased fuel consumption at TPPs, which, in turn, led to a shortage of fuel. In these conditions, the only effective solution was the urgent purchase of Russian-made liquefied gas in order to prevent a decrease in the performance of power systems in extreme climatic conditions. This incident confirmed that it is too early to write off coal fuel "to the reserve".
In Russia, the production and consumption of coal is also developing in different directions. If the volume of production has been constantly growing in recent years, then consumption in the country has been decreasing in accordance with global trends.
World Coal Exports
In 2017, more than 80 countries exported coal products, the total volume of exports for all types of coal amounted to 1,072.2 million tons of coal. The total market value of world exports in 2017 exceeded $ 105 billion.
Today, the share of world supplies of coal from the volume of its production is relatively small and amounts to only about 15%. This indicates that most of the coal mined (over 80%) is still used by coal-producing countries for their own needs. However, some states export more than half of the coal mined: Colombia - 92.1%, Australia - 79.3%, Indonesia - 71.6%, Canada - 50.2%. It should be noted that not all of these countries are among the world's largest coal producers.
From Fig. 3, it can be seen that the scenario for the development of coal exports as a whole repeats the change in the volumes of production and consumption of coal in the world - an increase in volumes until 2013 with a subsequent slight decrease, but this does not apply to all participants in the global coal market. The first five largest coal exporters, despite everything, are increasing the volume of coal exports. This means that the demand for coal products in general on the world market is not decreasing.
It also follows from Fig. 3 that the volume of world coal exports (bituminous coal) over the past 20 years has increased almost 3 times, while coal production in the world for the specified period increased only 1.7 times. Thus, the growth rate of coal exports significantly outstrips the growth rate of coal production.
It should be noted that the market value of world coal exports varied disproportionately to its volume - with an increase in the volume of world coal exports over the past 20 years by 3.3 times, its value increased by 4.5 times. This is due to the worldwide rise in energy prices. However, as the volume of global coal exports began to decline in recent years, a decline in its market value followed.
The share presented in Table. At the end of 2017, 6 ten countries accounted for more than 98.0% of the total volume of world coal exports.
In Fig. 4 you can see data on the structure of world exports of coal in the context of the largest countries - coal exporters. The information is provided based on the results of 2016 due to the lack of statistical reporting on the export of coal by some of the largest exporters for 2017, which leads to a distortion of the overall picture of coal exports.
The recognized leaders of the world coal export - Australia, Indonesia, Russia, Colombia - constantly and steadily increased the volume of coal export supplies during the period under review.
Russian coal export
As a coal exporter, the Russian Federation does not have the advantages that its main competitors have - first of all, this is the distance from coal-mining regions to the nearest coal terminals in seaports. If in Australia and Indonesia this distance is measured in tens of kilometers, then in Russia, where the main flow of exported coal comes from Kuzbass, this distance is more than 4,000 km to the ports of the Pacific coast and almost the same distance to the western borders of Russia. This situation leads to a significant increase in the transport component in the price of Russian coal products. In addition, the constant growth of tariffs for rail transportation of export coal significantly reduces its competitiveness in the world market, since no global coal exporter carries out rail transportation of coal over such vast distances as Russia.
Today Russian coal is supplied to more than 60 countries of the world. Coal exports are a fairly significant source of income for the country, providing about $ 10 billion in foreign exchange earnings annually. Despite the intensification of competition between the countries exporting coal products, the export of Russian coal continues to grow, at the end of 2017 it amounted to 190.1 million tons.
From Fig. 4 it follows that in the cases considered, Australia and Indonesia have a dominant position in export supplies of coal, occupying the first and second places in the list of the largest coal exporters, respectively. But Russia, which occupies the third position in this list, has low (up to 20%) market shares. This indicates that the Russian Federation has prospects for development in this direction, although increasing the market share in the Asian segment seems to be both long and difficult.
Coal imports
In 2017, more than 110 countries of the world imported coal and coal products (TN VED code 2701), the total import volume amounted to 1,169.8 million tons of coal.
As for the actual world imports of coal, the largest coal producing countries - China and India - also top the rating list of the largest coal importers. This is due to the fact that their own coal production is unable to meet the needs of the growing economies of these countries. As a result, they are forced to additionally import very significant volumes of coal.
Other countries located in the Asia-Pacific region (Japan, Republic of Korea) are also at the top of the rating list of importers. Thus, the main center of consumption of coal products is in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, the main coal exporters (Australia, Indonesia and partly Russia) are also located in the Asia-Pacific region. This creates opportunities for a significant reduction in the distance of coal transportation by sea and, accordingly, reduction in transport costs.
Like many other coal-mining countries, it also imports for its own needs. At the same time, "net" imports are not large here, at the end of 2017 it amounted to only about 380 thousand tons. The trick here lies in the fact that those 22 million tons of coal that were brought into the territory of Russia from Kazakhstan, in fact, are not imports, since both Russia and Kazakhstan are members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and therefore are on a single customs territory ... In this case, the concept of "import" loses its meaning and is replaced by the term "import". However, UN statistics show that in 2017 the volume of coal imports to the Russian Federation amounted to 22.6 million tons. Obviously, in this case, the total indicator of import and import is indicated.
Further perspectives
Taking into account the above, we can conclude that the coal industry in most countries is not going through better times... Since 2014, practically all over the world there has been a decrease in coal consumption (in the EU countries, this reduction began in 2013). The only exceptions are the Asia-Pacific countries, where, contrary to global trends, consumption continues to grow. The group of the top 10 coal consumers is also seeing an increase in coal consumption.
A decrease in consumption leads to a decrease in production volumes. In the United States, over the past 5 years, coal production has decreased by more than 150 million tons. Coal production is also declining in other major coal-mining countries: South Africa, Germany and Poland, and the volume of international coal trade is also decreasing.
The main challenges destabilizing the development of the global coal industry include instability in demand and prices for coal products on the world market, stricter environmental requirements for the use of coal, as well as the desire of some countries to reduce dependence on coal imports through the development of renewable energy sources.
According to the data presented in analytical reviews of the International Energy Agency, the growth of global demand for coal by 2020 will be at best 0.8% per year. As well as today, it will be primarily determined by the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and India.
Russia's role in global coal exports will also grow. Contrary to global trends, coal production in the Russian Federation is constantly growing. With the aim of expanding the sale of mined coal, the country seeks to increase its share in the markets of the Asia-Pacific region, where coal consumption is increasing by 140 million tons per year. The share of Russia in this market is only 8.6%, so the immediate goal is to bring this figure to 15%. And in the event of a favorable price environment, the share of Asia-Pacific countries in the total supply of Russian coal may reach 53%. However, there are also a number of constraining factors - the insufficient capacity of the railways in the Pacific direction, as well as the insufficient coal terminals of the seaports of the Far East for coal transshipment.
Despite the general reduction in the production and consumption of coal in Europe, the export of Russian coal is growing in this direction as well.
In order to increase the efficiency of Russian coal exports, according to the author, Russian coal producers need to focus their efforts in the direction of those countries where there are better prospects for further growth in coal consumption and where Russia has the most significant market share. The analysis of importing countries shows that this group includes Japan, China and the Republic of Korea - all countries are located in the Asia-Pacific region. Taking into account the data on the dynamics of coal consumption in these countries, it is quite possible to predict the volumes of coal imports by these countries in the future until 2030. The demand for coal imports in these countries may increase by 120–150 million tons per year, which creates a very significant market niche. In these conditions, Russian coal producers should focus their supplies on this rather promising market segment.
Calculations show that at favorable development situation (no political aggravations with importing countries, unpredictable changes in the economic situation, fluctuations in exchange rates, etc.) the volume of Russian coal exports in accordance with the optimistic scenario (taking into account the needs of the main consumers) may increase by 2030 to the level of 240-250 million tons.
At the same time, today one should be wary of overly optimistic forecasts, since at present the growth rates of Russian coal exports have begun to decline somewhat. If at the end of 2017 the increase in the volume of coal exports to the level of the previous year amounted to 114.8%, then in the first half of 2018 this figure increased (according to operational data) by only 1.4% (according to the Central Dispatch Office of the Fuel and Energy Complex). In this regard, there is also a moderate scenario for the development of coal exports, according to which its volume by 2030 will not exceed 215–220 million tons of coal.
Thus, in general, the prospects for the development of the domestic coal industry in the foreseeable future appear to be very favorable. This assessment is facilitated by:
- the presence of a sufficient volume of coal reserves in the subsoil;
- very high investment attractiveness of coal industry enterprises, as evidenced by the growth dynamics of investments in their fixed assets in recent years;
- a steady upward trend in production capacities at enterprises of the coal industry;
- the presence of very promising international markets for coal, and primarily in the Asia-Pacific region.
Coal is a type of fuel that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Then, most engines used coal as fuel and the consumption of this mineral was truly enormous. In the 20th century, coal gave way to oil, which in turn risks being supplanted in the 21st century by alternative fuel sources and natural gas. But, nevertheless, coal is still a strategic raw material.
Coal is used to produce over 400 different commodities. Coal tar and supra-tar water are used to produce ammonia, benzene, phenol, and others. chemical compounds, which after processing are used in the production of paints and varnishes and rubber. With deep processing of coal, rare metals can be obtained: zinc, molybdenum, germanium.
But still, first of all, coal is valued as a fuel. More than half of all coal mined in the world is used in this capacity. And about 25% of coal production is used in the production of coke for metallurgy.
The total proven world reserves of coal are more than 890 billion tons, and the estimated reserves are very difficult to estimate, since many deposits are located in remote areas. According to some estimates, in Siberia alone, the estimated coal reserves may reach several trillion tons. The proven reserves of hard coal are estimated at 404 billion tons, which is 45.39% of the total. The remaining 54.64% falls on brown coal, the quantitative reserves of which are estimated at approximately 486 billion tons. According to scientists' forecasts, coal should be enough for mankind for about 200 years, while natural gas should also be exhausted in 60 and 240 years, respectively.
Like other minerals, coal is unevenly distributed across the world map. Proved reserves of about 812 billion tons, which is 91.2% of all world coal deposits, are concentrated in 10 states. Russia ranks second in the world with just over 157 billion tons, of which 49.1 billion tons are hard coal, or 31.2% of the total. And the leader in world coal reserves is the United States of America - more than 237.3 billion tons, of which 45.7% is coal.
At the end of 2014, the Russian Federation produced 358.2 million tons of coal. That is 1.7% more compared to 2013. Production in 2014 is a record for Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the rating of the states - leaders in coal mining, Russia takes 6th place. And China is in the lead by a large margin from competitors, the country produces 3,680 million tons of coal, which is 46% of world production.
The dynamics of world coal production has two opposite directions. In the United States and the developed countries of the European Union, coal production is gradually declining. According to experts, the drop in coal production in the United States by 2025 may reach 20%. This is primarily attributed to the low profitability of mines and low prices for natural gas. In Europe, coal production is declining due to the high cost of production, as well as due to the negative impact of coal enterprises on the environment. Compared to 2000, coal production in the United States decreased by 11%, and in Germany by 8%.
On the other hand, the countries of Southeast Asia are showing tremendous growth in coal production. This is due to the sharp economic growth in the countries of this region. And since these countries have only coal in large quantities from mineral resources, it is not surprising that the stake is made on this type of fuel. For example, in China, 70% of electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants. To provide its industry with the necessary amount of electricity, China increased coal production by 2.45 times compared to 2000, India by 1.8 times, and Indonesia by 4.7 times. Coal production in Russia in comparison with 2000 increased by 25%.
On average, 3,900 million tons of coal are used all over the world annually. China is the world's main consumer. This country annually consumes about 2,000 million tons of coal. This figure is 51.2% of the average annual world consumption. At the end of 2014, Russian consumers of coal used about 170 million tons of fuel. This is the 4th indicator in the world. Overall, 8 countries account for 84% of world consumption.
Coal is one of the three main energy minerals. To understand what energy value each type of fuel has, a conventional fuel was introduced, the heat content of one kg. which is taken equal to 29.306 MJ. Heat content is heat energy that is available to be converted into heat when a material is exposed to a certain amount. By the end of 2014, 240 million tons of coal could be created from coal mined in Russia. of conventional fuel, which is 13.9% of the total amount of extracted energy carriers.
The coal industry in Russia employs about 153 thousand people. The average salary in the industry, at the end of 2014, amounted to 40,700 rubles, which is 24.8% more than the average salary in the country. But at the same time, the salary of workers in the coal industry is 26.8% lower than the salary of all enterprises engaged in the extraction of minerals.
In 2014, 152 million tons of Russian coal were exported. This figure exceeded by 7.8% the number of exports in 2013. The total amount received for export coal in 2014 was US $ 11.7 billion. 12.76 million tons were exported to neighboring countries, and the bulk of 139.24 million tons was sent to non-CIS countries. 63% of export coal was sent through seaports, the remaining 37% was sent through land border crossings. coal in the Russian Federation in 2014 amounted to 25.3 million tons, which is 15% less than in 2013. About 90% of imports are from Kazakhstan.
Industry geography
Today in the Russian Federation there are 121 open-pit mines and 85 mines. The main centers of the coal industry are Siberia, where the Kuznetsk coal basin is located. Other large coal basins of the country are Kansk-Achinsk, Pechora, Irkutsk, Ulug-Khem, Eastern Donbass. Promising for development are the Tunguska and Lensky coal basins.
The Kuznetsk coal basin (Kuzbass) is one of the largest coal basins in the world. The total geological reserves of coal are estimated at 319 billion tons. Today, Kuzbass produces more than 56% of all coal in Russia, as well as about 80% of all coking coal.
Coal mining is carried out both underground and open pit. The basin has 58 mines and 38 coal mines. More than 30% of coal is mined in open-pit mines; in addition, there are three mines in Kuzbass where mining is carried out using a hydraulic method. The thickness of the coal seams ranges from 1.5 to 4 meters. The mines are relatively shallow, with an average depth of 200 meters. The average thickness of the developed seams is 2.1 meters.
The quality of coal in the Kuznetsk Basin is different. Coals of higher quality are deposited at a depth, and closer to the surface, the content of moisture and ash in the coals increases. To improve the quality of mined coal, 25 concentrating factories operate in Kuzbass. 40-45% of the mined coal is used for coking. The average heat content of coal is 29 - 36 MJ per 1 kg.
The main problem of the Kuznetsk coal basin is its remoteness from the main centers of consumption. The high transport costs of transporting coal by rail increase it, which negatively affects competitiveness. In this regard, investments aimed at the development of Kuzbass are decreasing.
Unlike Kuzbass, the Donetsk coal basin, the eastern part of which is located on the territory of the Russian Federation, occupies an advantageous geographical position... Geological reserves of coal in the Eastern Donbass are estimated at 7.2 billion tons. Today, mining in the region is carried out only underground. There are 9 operating mines, the total production capacity of which is about 8 million tons of coal per year.
More than 90% of the coals in the Eastern Donbass are the most valuable grade of this fuel - anthracite. Anthracites are coals with the highest heating value - 34-36 MJ per 1 kg. They are used in the energy and chemical industries.
Coal mining in the Eastern Donbass is carried out from great depths. As a rule, the depth of mines exceeds 1 km, while the thickness of the developed seams ranges from 1.2 to 2.5 meters. Difficult mining conditions affect the cost of coal, in connection with which the government of the Russian Federation in the period from 2006 to 2010 spent over 14 billion rubles on restructuring the coal industry in the region. In 2015, a government program was launched to liquidate unprofitable coal enterprises in the Eastern Donbass. Now the program is at the stage of developing project documentation.
The Ulug-Khem coal basin is one of the most promising for development and investment. It is located in the Tyva Republic and has geological coal reserves of 10.2 billion tons. Here is the Elegetskoe coal deposit, which has huge reserves of scarce coking coal of grade Zh. The total reserves of this type of coal are estimated at 1 billion tons, while the bulk lies in a seam with a thickness of 8.3 meters. For comparison, coals of this class are mined in Kuzbass from seams with a thickness of 2 - 2.3 meters.
There is also the Mezhegeyskoye coal deposit with proven reserves of 213 million tons of grade Zh coal, as well as the largest coal mining company in the Republic of Tyva - the Kaa-Khem coal mine. A powerful Ulug seam is being developed in the section, the average thickness of which is 8.5 m. The annual production volume is more than 500 thousand tons of coal.
The Kansk-Achinsk coal basin is the largest in Russia for the extraction of brown coal. This basin is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and partly in the Irkutsk and Kemerovo regions. Coal reserves are estimated at 221 billion tons. Most of the coal is mined in an open pit.
On average, the Kansk-Achinsk basin produces more than 40 million tons of brown thermal coal per year. The largest coal mine in Russia, Borodinsky, is located here. The average annual coal production at this enterprise is more than 19 million tons of coal. In addition to Borodinsky, there are Berezovsky open pit mine with production of 6 million tons of coal per year, Nazarovsky - 4.3 million tons per year, Pereyaslovsky - 4 million tons per year.
The Irkutsk coal basin has an area of 42,700 sq. Km. Estimated coal reserves amount to more than 11 billion tons, of which the explored reserves are 7.5 billion tons. More than 90% of the deposits are G and GZh grade hard coals. The thickness of the seams is 1 - 10 meters. The largest deposits are located in the cities of Cheremkhovo and Voznesensk.
The Pechersk coal basin is located in the Komi Republic and the Nenets Autonomous District. Geological reserves of coal in this basin are estimated at 95 billion tons, and according to some sources at 210 billion tons. Mining is carried out underground and about 12 million tons of coal are produced annually. Coal enterprises are located in the cities of Vorkuta and Inta.
Valuable grades of coal are mined in the basin - coking coal and anthracite. Coal is mined in difficult conditions - the average mining depth is about 300 meters, and the coals have an average thickness of the seams - 1.5 m. The seams are subject to subsidence and bending, as a result of which they increase in the extraction of coal. In addition, the cost of coal is influenced by the fact that mining is carried out in the Far North and workers receive a "northern" salary bonus. But, despite the high coal, the role of the Pechersk basin is very important. It provides important raw materials for enterprises in the North and North-West of Russia.
The Lensky and Tunguska giant coal basins are located in the eastern part of Siberia and Yakutia. The area of the Lena basin is 750,000 sq. km., Tunguska - about 1 million square meters. km. In terms of the amount of coal reserves, the data are very different, the geological reserves of the Lena basin are - from 283 to 1,800 billion tons, and the Tunguska - from 375 to 2,000 billion tons.
Coal mining in these basins is difficult due to the inaccessibility of the territories. Today, in the Lena basin, production is carried out at 2 mines and 3 open-pit mines, the average annual production is about 1.5 million tons of coal. In the Tunguska basin, production is carried out by 1 mine and 2 open-pit mines, the average annual production is about 800 thousand tons of coal.
Indicators of production and consumption of coal in Russia
The coal industry of the Soviet Union, and after the Russian Federation, experienced several ups and downs. After record-breaking coal production at the end of the 1980s, a crisis in the industry began in the mid-1990s. In 1988, a production record was recorded - 426 million tons, and already 10 years later in 1998, production decreased almost 2 times and amounted to only 233 million tons of coal.
The reasons for the crisis lie in the low profitability of the coal industry. In the 90s, it decided to close subsidized and unprofitable mines. 70 mines were closed, which in total produced more than 25 million tons of coal. In addition to the rather low productivity of the mines, the coal they mined belonged to substandard grades, and its further processing was very expensive. As a result of the crisis, the coal enterprises of the Moscow region practically ceased to exist. In the Eastern Donbass, more than 50 mines were closed, which, in percentage terms, was 78% of the total. In Kuzbass, production fell by 40%. In the Urals and the Far East, production decreased by 2 times.
At the same time, the construction of 11 new mines and 15 open-pit mines began. As a result of the reforms, the share of opencast coal has increased to 65%, the productivity of mines has increased by 80%, and mine open-pit mining has increased by 200%. Thus, it was possible to increase coal production and at the beginning of the 2000s, an increase in coal production began, which continues to this day.
In 2014, the open pit mined 252.9 million tons of coal, which in percentage terms amounted to 70% of the total. Compared to 2013, this indicator increased by 0.8%. And if we compare with 2000, then this figure increased by 34%.
About 45% of mined Russian coal is processed at concentration plants. In 2014, out of 358 million tons of mined coal, 161.8 million tons were processed at factories. 43% of coal mined in the Pechersk basin is sent for processing, for the Eastern Donbass this figure is 71.4%, for Kuzbass - 44%.
At the end of 2014, most coal was mined in the Siberian Federal District - 84.5% of the total. In other Federal Districts, the situation is as follows:
- Far Eastern Federal District - 9.4%
- Northwestern Federal District - 4%
- Southern Federal District - 1.3%
- Ural Federal District - 0.5%
- Volga Federal District - 0.2%
- Central Federal District - 0.1%
In 2014, taking into account imports, 195.95 million tons of coal were supplied to the domestic Russian one. This is 5.5% less than in 2013. The distribution of coal on the market is as follows:
- Provision of power plants - 55.1%
- For coke production - 19.3%
- Utility consumers and population - 13.3%
- Metallurgy needs - 1.3%
- JSC Russian Railways - 0.7%
- Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation - 0.4%
- Nuclear industry - 0.3%
- Other needs (State reserve, cement plants, Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, etc.) - 9.6%
The largest coal companies in Russia
The leader of the Russian coal industry is the Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK). At the end of 2013, enterprises belonging to the structure of SUEK produced 96.5 million tons of coal, which is 27.4% of the total amount of coal mined in Russia. The company has the largest proven coal reserves in the Russian Federation - 5.6 billion tons. This is the fifth largest coal company in the world.
The structure of the company includes 17 open-pit mines and 12 mines. Coal mining enterprises of SUEK are located in 7 regions of the Russian Federation. At the end of 2013, in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, SUEK mined coal:
- Kemerovo region - 32.6 million tons;
- Krasnoyarsk Territory - 26.5 million tons;
- Republic of Buryatia - 12.6 million tons;
- Republic of Khakassia - 10.6 million tons;
- Trans-Baikal Territory - 5.4 million tons;
- Khabarovsk Territory - 4.6 million tons;
- Primorsky Territory - 4.1 million tons;
SUEK enterprises specialize in the extraction of coal grades D, DG, G, SS, as well as brown coal. In the total volume, opencast coal mining is 68%, and underground - 32%. The turnover of the Siberian Coal Energy Company in 2013 amounted to US $ 5.4 billion. The number of employees of the company exceeds 33 thousand people.
The second largest coal company in the Russian Federation is OJSC Kuzbassrazrezugol. The company specializes in open pit coal mining and operates in 6 open-pit mines. By the end of 2013, 43.9 million tons of coal were mined at the open-pit mines owned by Kuzbassrazrezugol.
The structure of the company includes coal mining enterprises with proven coal reserves of more than 2 billion tons. Kuzbassrazrezugol extracts and sells coal grades D, DG, G, SS, T, KO, KS, more than 50% of production is exported. At the end of 2013, the company's turnover amounted to 50 billion rubles. The total number of employees exceeds 25 thousand people. Coal mines owned by Kuzbassrazrezugol:
- Taldinsky;
- Bachatsky;
- Krasnobrodsky;
- Kedrovsky;
- Mokhovsky;
- Kaltansky;
SDS-Ugol has the third largest coal production in Russia. In 2013, SDS-Ugol enterprises produced 25.7 million tons of coal. Of these, 66% were mined by the open pit, and 34% were mined underground. About 88% of the products were exported. The main importing countries of the SDS-Ugol company are Germany, Great Britain, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland.
SDS-Ugol is a subsidiary of the Siberian Business Union holding. The structure "SDS-Ugol" includes 4 open-pit mines and more than 10 mines. Also in the structure of the company there are 2 concentrating plants "Chernigovskaya" and "Listvyazhnaya" with an annual processing capacity of 11.5 million tons of coal and 10 million tons of coal, respectively. The staff of the company "SDS-Ugol" is about 13 thousand people. The average annual turnover of the company is about 30 billion rubles.
Vostsibugol is the largest coal company in Eastern Siberia and the fourth in terms of production in Russia. Coal mining enterprises of the company provide 90% of fuel to OJSC Irkutskenergo. In addition, coal is supplied to enterprises in the Angara region and to other regions of the country. Coal production in 2013 amounted to 15.7 million tons.
Vostsibugol manages 7 open-pit mines, an enrichment plant with a processing capacity of 4.5 million tons of coal per year and an ore repair plant. The company extracts coals of grades 2BR, 3BR, D, SS, Zh, G, GZh. The total coal reserves at the Vostsibugol deposits are estimated at 1.1 billion tons, of which 0.5 billion tons is bituminous coal, 0.6 billion tons is brown coal. The average annual turnover of the company is about 10 billion rubles. The number of employees is 5 thousand people.
The company "Yuzhny Kuzbass" closes the top five leaders in the coal industry in Russia. At the end of 2013, the company's enterprises produced 15.1 million tons of coal. Yuzhny Kuzbass is part of the Mechel holding and has 3 mines, 3 open-pit mines and 4 processing plants. Explored coal reserves amount to about 1.7 billion tons.
Industry development prospects
According to analysts' forecasts, the demand for coal will increase until around 2020. After that, the consumption of this type of fuel will gradually decrease. This forecast is associated with an increase in natural gas consumption in the future. And even the growing demand for coal in Southeast Asia and India will not be able to cover the decline in coal consumption in the developed countries of Europe and America.
Coal mining in Russia is a very important component of the country's economy. In addition to meeting domestic needs, coal is a strategically important export raw material. The demand for Russian coal is very high, but there is one problem due to which the cost of fuel is increasing. These are the costs of transporting coal.
In 2014, the average annual cost of a ton of Kuzbass export coal was $ 76, with about half of the amount spent on fuel transportation to the Far Eastern seaports. The consumption of coal in the domestic market is decreasing due to the gasification of regions and enterprises, therefore, for the development of the industry, it is necessary to focus on export.
In order to "stay afloat", Russian coal companies must, without fail, reduce the cost of mining and transporting coal. It is also very important to develop technologies for the enrichment and processing of raw materials in order to supply more expensive grades of coal to the market.
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