The Mezhdurechensk site of Raspadskaya Coal Company comprises Raspadskaya and Raspadskaya-Koksovaya mines, Raspadsky and Raspadsky-Koksovy open pits, the Raspadskaya washing plant and some service companies.
The Mezhdurechensk site is a supplier of coal to the majority of leading steel and coking works and enterprises in Russia and the CIS, as well as countries in South-east Asia and Eastern Europe. A wide range of products include all major grades of coking coal — GZh, K, KS, KO and Zh.
Raspadskaya washing plant
The Raspadskaya washing plant is the largest washing plant in Russia and in Europe that processes coking coal of all basic grades — GZh, K, KS, KO and Zh.
It went into operation in October 2005. The washing plant has a design capacity of 15 mtpa of run-of-mine coal.
Coal from all operations of Raspadskaya Coal Company is sent there. The Raspadskaya washing plant processes over 11 mt of coal every year.
From 2005 to 2018, the Raspadskaya washing plant processed over 115 mt of coal and produced over 81 mt of concentrate.
In the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, Russian scientists made a few attempts to study the Kuznetsk coal basin. Following difficult expeditions, explorers suggested that the mountains between the Tom and Mrassu Rivers and the Olzherass River flood plains contained one of the largest and highest-quality coal deposits in the world, with coal seams of exceptional thickness.
It was only in 1948, however, that a fat coking coal deposit was discovered in the middle of the Olzherass River and its tributaries. It was called Raspadsky after the name of a wellspring.
In the early 1960s, Raspadskaya mine was designed, according to which it would become the largest and most advanced coal operation in the country. In 1970, Raspadskaya was announced as a Komsomol shock construction project; thousands of young people from all over the USSR went there.
Stage 1 of Raspadskaya mine, with a design capacity of 2 mtpa, went into operation on 28 December 1973. Construction of the mine was completed four years later, on 27 December 1977, when stage 3 went into operation.
In the course of the next ten years, the miners managed to ramp up coal production to the full design capacity of 7.5 mtpa.
In the 1990s, the coal industry experienced a severe crisis; however, Raspadskaya not only kept afloat but even grew — new mining systems were brought into operation, and labour productivity increased. For one, Raspadskaya mine was the first in Russia to put into operation a JOY longwall mining system in 1997.
In 2003, Raspadskaya mine served as the basis for the establishment of Raspadskaya Coal Company, which united interrelated operations — a group of mining, development, transportation and sales businesses.
In 2003, construction of Raspadskaya Koksovaya mine began in order to produce scarce K- and KO-grade coking coals.
In 2004, Raspadsky open pit was set up.
In 2005, Raspadskaya washing plant stage 1 went into operation. From day one, the operation utilised cutting-edge equipment to wash GZh, K, GZhO, OA, KS, T and Zh grades of coal.
In 2008, Raspadskaya washing plant stage 2 went into operation.
In 2011, seven months after an accident, Raspadskaya produced the first coal from longwall 4-9-21b.
In 2013, Raspadskaya Coal Company joined EVRAZ following the sale of the shares held by Corber Enterprises Ltd.
That same year, Raspadsky open pit was among the five largest open pits in Russia, with coal production of 4 mtpa.
In 2014, recovery works were completed in the Raspadskaya mine block 4 (Glukhaya) ventilation shaft.
In 2017, flotation technology was brought into operation at Raspadskaya washing plant section 3, which provided for the processing of hard-to-wash K, KS and OS grades of coal, with material of less than 0.15 mm.
In 2017, Raspadsky open pit commenced development of a new site, an open mining area at Raspadskaya Koksovaya mine where OS and KS grades of coal are produced.
In 2017, Raspadskaya mine resumed activities in seam 6-6a with reserves of over 127 mt. That same year, the mine produced 6.5 mt.
In 2018–2019, Raspadskaya Coal Company’s businesses are implementing investment projects aimed at the development of operations and safe working conditions; state-of-the-art production and development equipment is being procured. Today, the company is prioritising projects that focus on increasing safety, reducing costs, expanding the product line and improving the quality of coal concentrate. This strategy will allow the company to maintain its leadership among coking coal producers in any economic environment.