Novokuznetsk site

The Novokuznetsk site of Raspadskaya Coal Company includes five mines, two washing plants and specialised support enterprises. At present, coal is mined by the Alardinskaya, Essaulskaya, Osinnikovskaya, Uskovskaya and Yerunakovskaya-VIII mines. Geographically, the mines are located in three cities in Kuzbass: Novokuznetsk, Osinniky and Kaltan.

The mines supply coal to the majority of leading steel works and enterprises in Russia and the CIS. EVRAZ ZSMK is a major consumer.

Raspadskaya Coal Company’s mines are among the leaders in the Russian coal industry in terms of workflow mechanisation and automation: 100% of extraction comes from fully mechanized coal faces.

The mines’ products have won multiple top awards at international exhibitions, including “Coal of Russia and Mining” and “Expo Coal”.

The mine went into operation in February 2013.

Proven coal reserves at the Yerunakovsky coal deposit amount to 300 mt. At present, Yerunakovskaya-VIII mines coal reserves in seam 48. The average annual production is 2.5-3 mtpa. The monthly face output is about 180–240 kt. The mine extracts GZh, Zh and GZhO grades of coking coal. Upon processing at the Kuznetskaya washing plant and Abashevskaya washing plant, coal concentrate is shipped to EVRAZ steel operations and for export.

Technologies: state-of-the-art machinery from international and national producers of mining equipment is used. The mine’s production faces, development faces and conveyors are equipped with an underground video surveillance system. A water treatment facility was built that provides for a few stages of treatment and purification of mine water and surface water that is drained from the territory of the mine sites. In 2018, a VLD 1000 directional drill system was put into operation as part of the gas drainage programme.

The mine went into operation in May 1984.

Essaulskaya mines coal reserves in seam 26. The average annual production is ca. 1.4 mtpa of Zh-grade coking coal. Essaulskaya coal is sent for processing to the Kuznetskaya and Abashevskaya washing plants. It is used in feed for GZh+Zh-grade coal concentrate. The major consumers of the concentrate are EVRAZ steel mills.

In 2016, EVRAZ approved an investment project for development of seam 29a with booked reserves of over 10 mt of valuable GZh-grade coking coal. The seam thickness is about 3 metres. The start of extraction is planned for Q3 2019, when longwall 29-37 is put into operation. Investment in the project will amount to RUB 1 billion.

Technologies: a set of state-of-the-art mining equipment has been acquired for timely development of seam 29a: road headers and conveyor tail ends. Modern suspended monorail transport is used for the delivery of equipment and people to seam 29.

In October 2002, the first phase of the coal mine went into operation. Uskovskaya mine extracts GZh-grade coking coal, which, upon washing at the Kuznetskaya and Abashevskaya washing plants, is shipped to EVRAZ steel mills. It is also favoured by third-party customers in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine. The average annual production is 2.5 mtpa.

The mine has been implementing its seam 48 access and development investment project since 2018. EVRAZ’s capex into this project is RUB 5.5 billion. Equipment has been procured, including two JOY shearers; development is under way, and a licence for the Uskovsky-2 block has been obtained. The plan is to build a new fan and purchase a new longwall system.

Alardinskaya mine is the only operation within the company that extracts valuable KS-grade coking coal. The mine is located in the south of Kuzbass, next to the settlement of Malinovka. On 1 March 1957, the first coal was brought to the surface from longwall 17-1 of the Malinovsky tunnels. That date is considered to be Alardinskaya mine’s birthday. Alardinskaya miners have produced over 110 mt of coal in 62 years of work.

The mine’s major units are production unit No. 1 and development units No. 5 and No. 8. The conveyor and mine transport, fixed installations, energy and mechanical service, degassing and preventive maintenance, face equipment repair, directional drilling, Techcomplex, support mine rescue teams and steam power belong to support units. Alardinskaya mine employs around a thousand people.

Currently, coal is extracted from longwall 6-1-20; the longwall mining system comprises 164 GLINIK roof supports and a high performance Polish KSW shearer. Every month, Alardinskaya ships 220–240 kt of coal to its customers. Some 60% goes to EVRAZ ZSMK, and 40% goes to the Raspadskaya washing plant in Mezhdurechensk for preparation.

The mine has a 10–15% share of the Russian market for valuable KS-grade coal. Major customers include EVRAZ steel works, and a part of the coal goes to coking and steel works in Russia and Ukraine.

Osinnikovskaya mine is one of the oldest mines in Kuzbass; in December 2019, it will be 86 years old. It is also one of the deepest Kuzbass mines. The main mining operations take place at a depth of 600–800 metres. Zh-grade coking coal produced by Osinnikovskaya is characterised by high caking properties, low sulphur and phosphorus content and a high calorific value. This is high-quality material for furnace coke production. The mine is considered the richest in Kuzbass in terms of this scares coal reserves. Its booked reserves amount to 390.9 mt, and it has ca. 160 mt in commercial reserves.

The mine’s three major operating units are production unit No. 1 and development units No. 3 and No. 5. The mine comprises eleven support units, and 1,077 people work at the mine.

Today, Osinnikovskaya is implementing an EVRAZ investment project to develop the high-potential block 4; longwall 4-1-5-6 is being mined now. The miners plan to finish mining that longwall in January 2020. This year, the company is purchasing a new GLINIK-1836 longwall mining system (Poland), FAMUR powered roof supports and a JOY shearer (Great Britain) for Osinikovskaya miners.

Osinnikovskaya coal is shipped to EVRAZ steel works.

The Novokuznetsk site of Raspadskaya Coal Company includes the Kuznetskaya and Abashevskaya central washing plants (CWPs). The washing plants process run-of-mine coal that is mined at all seven mines and open pits and at a new EVRAZ coal operation — Mezhegeyugol Coal Company in the Tuva Republic.

The Kuznetskaya CWP has a design capacity of 6.5 mtpa, while achieved capacity is 5.7 mtpa.

The Abashevskaya CWP has a design capacity of 3.5 mtpa.

In 1930, a mine named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze was opened in the vicinity of the Kuznetsky metallurgical plant in Kuzbass. There were eight mines in operation in the region at the outbreak of World War II; coal production increased, and new deposits were developed. For this reason, an upgrading and revamping programme was adopted for the mines.

On 29 September 1969, the Yuzhkuzbassugol operation was established by an order of the Ministry of the Coal Industry of the USSR “in order to implement measures aimed at simplifying and improving the coal industry management structure”. In 1974, it was transformed into the Yuzhnokuzbasskoye coal production enterprise, i.e. Yuzhkuzbassugol.

In 2007, EVRAZ acquired a 100% stake in the coal company, which marked the start of a new phase in its development. Yuzhkuzbassugol underwent fundamental modernisation and revamping, and a new safety culture was established in the company.

Today, at the Novokuznetsk site’s operations, EVRAZ is implementing investment projects that are aimed at the development of coal mines and safe working conditions, while also providing significant funding for state-of-the-art production and development equipment for the mines. The company has put in place all the necessary arrangements for work, training, career growth, rest and creativity of each employee.