DIA “Kuzbass”: Promising Future for the Mining Industry
09.04.2010
The year 2009 wasn’t easy for the country’s economy in whole and for the mining industry in particular. Moreover, the production decline rate turned out to be higher than in other industries. The dramatic slump in demand for mining products led to a drop both in coal production and prices (in 2009 the price of a ton of coal dropped three times as compared to 2008) and to lower profitability of coal mines. All that together with increased transport costs and lack of bank loans forced companies to cut investments into capital stock and production development, to suspend construction of new facilities aimed at effective production growth and future development. In this difficult situation some companies searched for new product markets, the others hoped for government support or switched over to severe cost savings. Diversified Industrial Association «Kuzbass» сlosed corporation has found its own way out of the crisis. Owing to proper strategy, ability to estimate consequences and to make wise decisions the company administration managed not only to save its mining businesses, but to increase production and, which is especially important, to keep all the social guarantees for the workers. In 2009 open joint stock company «Zarechnaya mine» (management company DIA «Kuzbass») for the first time in its history surpassed five million tons mark and raised 5.2 million tons of coal. With this result Zarechnaya mine ranks the runner up among the deep mines in Kuzbass!
Of course, this high output is the result of long previous work. 10 billion rubles have been invested into the development of «Zarechnaya» mine over the last decade. Up-to-date efficient machinery, new technologies, high qualification of engineers and workers, effective labour management insured success for the company which ranks one of the best not only in Kuzbass but in Russia. In order to increase production five metres thick «Baikaimskiy» coal-seam was set into operation in June 2009. New efficient equipment produced by the manufacturers of the holding and world leading producers was purchased for operation in the coal-seam. A new system of second working was introduced and is successfully operated: three long-wall faces of two coal seams are being worked out simultaneously, one is being mounted, the two others are being mined. Thus time is not wasted on remounting. The operation of conveyor transport was fine-tuned, which made it possible to increase the productive time of machines. Efficient production management and high technological level of the new machinery available ensured the growth of labour productivity. In 2009 the measure of productivity increased from 261.2 tons of coal per a miner up to 273 tons of coal per a miner, the average measure of productivity in Kuzbass being 183 tons of coal per a miner. Increasing production at «Zarechnaya» mine is accompanied by measures aimed at insuring industrial safety. The work aimed at complex degassing of the working seams, prevention of outburst, gas inflammation and flooding is carried out in full and in due time. Control and communication systems are being constantly improved.
Altogether in 2009 «Zarechnaya» Mining Company produced about 5.7 million tons of coal. The company is planning to increase production of coal up to 8 million tons in 2010, 1.5 million tons being contributed by «Aleksievskaya» Open joint stock company. This mine will be able to triple its production relative to the preceding period due to setting into exploitation long-wall face 101 of «Krasnogorskiy» coal-seam, which is being prepared at an accelerated pace. Now the mine is working to achieve the required production rate. In February 2010 «Aleksievskaya» raised 137 thousand tons of coal. This is the highest result for 45 years of its operation. It was the result of due organization of work at all stages of the production chain: from combining and accelerating of production processes at the second working stage to uninterrupted raise of coal while observing all industrial safety measures.
Labour productivity in the company also achieved the highest level in February. It made 264 tons of coal per miner. In the preceding period the highest productivity level was registered in April 2008 when they raised 97 tons of coal per month and the labour productivity was 133 tons per miner. In February under difficult weather conditions (extremely cold temperature) «Aleksievskaya» delivered 100 thousand tons of coal to the consumers, which is also a record for the mine. Increase in production brought about the need to clean greater amount of run-of-mine coal. For that purpose «Sputnik» concentration plant was technically modernized without halting the production process. Its productivity increased up to 5 million tons of coal per year. The concentration plant was provided with modern equipment which allowed to improve the quality of coal cleaning and to raise concentrate output. In the current year the re-equipment of the concentration plant is going on, its productivity will be increased up to 6 million tons of coal per year.
High quality of the products ensured a stable position of the company on the world coal market having helped to retain sales during recession. The products branded «Zarechnaya» is delivered to more than 15 countries of the world. In order to ensure timely and fail-free delivery of growing amounts of the product to consumers, DIA «Kuzbass» is developing logistic infrastructure. More than a billion rubles were invested into reconstruction of «Proyektnaya» trunk exchange of Western Siberian Railway and into construction of railway haul from «Zarechnaya» station to «Proektnaya» station. Developing its own railway communications will allow the company to use the country’s railway network. It is planned to set the facilities into operation in the end of May this year.
In October 2008 in deep-sea ice-free port Ventspils (Latvia) a new closed type terminal for transshipment of coal «BALTIC COAL TERMINAL» Ltd was put into operation. The function of the enterprise is detraining the coal, short-term storage in a closed godown and shipping. Baltic Coal Terminal has no equals in Baltic countries considering the amount of investments and technologies used for transshipment of coal. Only the first stage of construction involving the most modern and the most advanced technologies and equipment required more than 78 million euro. To guarantee environmental safety the technology of closed transshipment was applied which meets the environmental requirements of the European Union and international environmental conventions.
Large-scale investments and the most up-to-date technologies of cargo operations have already paid for themselves by now. On March, 17, 2010 the biggest bulk cargo lot was shipped at a record pace for the first time in «BALTIC COAL TERMINAL» history. In just 48 hours steamship EPTALOFOS has taken aboard 87 tons of high-quality coal concentrate produced by Open join stock company «Zarechnaya» mine.Valuable cargo went to Italy, Sardinia, Porto Torres. At present the terminal can transship 6 million tons of coal per year. To cope with the projected increase in volume of production at the company mines it is planned to put into operation the second stage of the terminal which will raise its outloading capacity up to 10 million tons per year. The steady trend of growth in demand and prices for coking coal made it possible to complete another significant project of the mining holding of the company. Already this year the construction of «Karagailinskoye Mining management office» Ltd which was suspended in April last year may be restarted. This mine has a unique deposit of coal (FA). To complete the project 150 million dollars and 18 months are required.
Deep processing of coal is a strategically important trend in the development on mining industry. The economic crises convinced the miners of the need to diversify their business. Introducing innovative technologies of coal processing will allow to extract more usable components from coal adjusting the quality of the end product in accordance with the world standards, providing the highest extra cost. Complex mining and exploiting the full potential of coal will provide profitability.
This year DIA «Kuzbuss» is launching a pilot project aimed at construction of «Serafimovskiy» energotechnological complex for deep coal processing at the site of extraction. In autumn last year the company won a tender for the right to develop a site of Serafimo-Ushakovskoye coal field in Promyshlenoye district, Kemerovo region. According to this project, a big mine producing coal (Gas, Fa, GasFa), a coal processing plant, and a energotechnological coal complex producing high range of chemical products including synthetic motor fuel will be constructed. This enterprise has no parallels in home industry. The high quality synthetic fuel can be used for commercial and military aircrafts. Adding the fuel to oil products improves their quality to correspond euro-4. That’s why the Ministry of Defense is most interested in its production.
Deep processing technologies have long been around and efficiently used in the world. In South African Republic, for example, a factory of this type produces synthetic fuel and pharmaceuticals, in China — nitrogen fertilizer, engine fuel and ethanol. German processing technologies are planned to be used in the construction of «Seraphimovskiy» complex. The project will be realized in a revolving way, construction will advance alongside investment.
The factory costing 1 bln. dollars is optimistically estimated to be put into operation in
Tatyana Belousova
