Severstal Plans Construction of 5 Million Tonne Coal Mine in Russia
03/25/2013 - OAO Vokutaugol, a major coal producer in Russia and a part of the Resources division of OAO Severstal, is planning the construction of a new coal mine at Plot 1 of the Usinsk deposit in the Komi Republic in Russia.
OAO Vokutaugol, a major coal producer in Russia and a part of the Resources division of OAO Severstal, a leading steel and steel-related mining company, is planning the construction of a new coal mine at Plot 1 of the Usinsk deposit in the Komi Republic in Russia.
The mine is expected to yield approximately 5 million tonnes of coal per year according to Dmitry Sakhno, Severstal Resources’ director of new deposit development.
Snowden, an Australian engineering company, will develop the mine having proposed a selection of plans for the layout and coal extraction at the plot. The chosen plan states that the mine will be opened up with sloping access and will enable the possibility of using wheeled vehicles at the shaft bottom.
Snowden will now develop the approved plan with the final version to be delivered this Autumn. Simultaneously, Vorkutaugol will begin the process to appoint a contractor to design the pithead area of the new site including all necessary infrastructure and a coal-preparation plant. According to Mr. Sakhno, the contractors being considered include global leaders in mine design and construction.
“It is important that the chosen contractor has experience of similar projects executed to best practice standards. Our objective is to construct a state-of-the-art mine in terms of production, efficiency and industrial safety,” Dmitry Sakhno commented.
The final concepts of the future Usinsk coal-mining facility are planned for later this year following which Vorkutaugol will start preparing the project documentation.
According to the license agreement, the construction phase of the new mine should start no later than 2017. By 2020, the facility should be commissioned for operation.
Vorkutaugol won the tender for developing Plot 1 of the Usinsk deposit in late 2011. The license cost was circa RUR 1.3 billion. The commercial reserves of coking coal are approximately 620 million tons. The coking coal at the plot is mostly 2Zh (fat coal) grade, which is similar to coal mined at the Vorkuta coal deposit currently developed by Vorkutaugol. Grades KZh (coaking fat coal) and 1Zh are also present. The formation depth and volume of gas are similar to the current conditions at other Vorkutaugol sites.
Mine field Plot 1 is located in the central area of the Usinsk deposit, within the Vorkuta city district. In 2012, Severstal invested approximately 100 million rubles in exploration of the plot.
