Elga deposit in Yakutia. OAO Mechel. Elga coal deposit

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Elginskoye deposit is a source of an expensive grade of coal - coking. This type is in demand by metallurgists in Russia and neighboring countries engaged in metal smelting. In Russia, there are 12 players in the coke market with annual production of raw materials in the range of 0.4 -21.7 million tons.

Fab Five

The industry leaders with production in millions of tons are:

• Evraz Group, 21, 7;
• Severstal Group, 12, 6;
• Mechel, 8, 6;
• "Sibuglemet", 8, 3;
• Group of companies of Iskandar Makhmutov, 7, 3.

Start mining

Geography affects the price of coke, which is a constant need for metal producers. The Elga coal deposit is estimated based on raw material reserves at 2.2 billion tons. To deliver to the consumer, we alth must not only be obtained, but also transported.

Development of the Elga field began in 2011. The owner of the raw material resource invested his own funds in the construction of a railway betweenproduction point and the line of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. In 2008, by order of Mechel, the Transstroy company began laying the track. The branch stretched for 321 km between the points of Ulak of the Far Eastern Railway and Elga. The road is only the initial stage of developing the territory of the coal basin, processing plants are needed, but the matter rests on financing.

Investment Goals

Not every systemically important bank is ready to become a creditor of an expensive project. He was the first to get involved in the business of VEB. Back in 2013, a loan was issued for a period of thirteen and a half years. But Mechel was unable to service the loan, a large overdue debt formed, VEB refused further financing, but kept 49% of Elgaugol's shares as collateral.

Gazprombank stepped in. Through financial transactions, part of the original loan was repaid. The company ends up in debt year after year. Hopes to attract investors by December 2017. In the meantime, he is fighting for the creation of a concession for the completion of the railway. The following option of concessionaires is being considered:

• Mechel PJSC (formerly OAO), owner of the finished site;
• RZD, the person to whom the line will be handed over after construction is completed;
• Gazprombank PJSC, source of finance.

Open horizons

The life cycle of each deposit consists of several stages. One of them is the exploration and evaluation of minerals. At the Elginskoye field, the assessment was carried out according to the Australian reporting code JORC. For Mechel Groupthis is an investment project. By evaluating the reserves, the company realizes that the return will follow in ten years.

Due to the close level of occurrence of the coal seam, mining is carried out in an open way. This method is cheaper - no need to spend money on the development of mine shafts, and safer - no need to be afraid of flooding with groundwater. There is no need to build air supply systems to the mine, there is no danger of horizon collapse. Given the above reasons, open-pit mining is more efficient.

Tactical and technical characteristics

Elga deposit in Yakutia is a source of scarce raw materials for metallurgy. Coal is evaluated by parameters:

• Calorific value - 6500-8600 kilocalories per kilogram of combustible fuel.
• Volatile matter up to 40%.
• Humidity - in the range of 4-15%; dry coals give more heat, less weathering.
• Sulfur content – 0.5%; the less sulfur in the products of combustion, the less acid is formed in the atmospheric air under the influence of moisture.

From the raw materials of the deposit at the processing plant, finished products are produced for the blast furnace shops of metallurgical enterprises. Already in 2014, the extraction rate of 2.7 million tons of coal and 2.3 million tons of coke for metallurgists was achieved.

Coal is mined, coke is sold - good business. Without coke, furnaces do not melt metal.

The main thing in business is people

So far we have been talking about financing an expensive investment. But people are mining coal,conduct exploration, open up 15-meter seams, transfer mining by vehicles to the transshipment point in Uluk.

The generals of the mining industry organize the process in all directions. Heavy mechanical labor falls on the shoulders of ordinary hard workers. When Mechel PAO (OAO - before the new law) opened a credit line for the development of a strategic facility, it was planned to organize five thousand jobs and settle the territory from scratch. After all, Elga is located 400 km from the nearest town of Neryungri.

Mining specialists, explosives, heavy machinery operators, drivers - all work on a rotational basis. Otherwise, it's impossible. After all, the village is temporary, wagons. Of course, there is also a stationary hostel, but for the time being I can only dream of own housing. In fairness, it should be said that there is a bathhouse, two canteens, a store with essential goods on the site. Dirty clothes can be washed and dried at the laundry.

Prospects for social development

But people strive for stability, for life with their families. Not everyone likes the state of migratory birds. According to the company's management, wages at the Elga field are among the highest in the industry. For the residents of Neryungri, this is an obvious fact. And for those who came from afar, the road and life eat up a significant part of the salary.

We must also take into account the harsh Yakut climate - winter here lasts from September to May. The three remaining months include spring, summer and autumn. It is morally and physically difficult for visiting specialists to live in conditionseternal winter.

The city of Neryungri was also not built immediately, but its construction was supervised by the state, which at that time was aware of social responsibility. Elga coal deposit is owned by private individuals.

Now people are doing the same job, but in a private company, which has a loss every time the balance sheet. Wagon trains, tankers with coal go to consumers. But there is no profit left for the development of the social sphere.

In Yakutia itself, coal is in demand in the housing and communal services sector, it goes to boiler houses for heat production and for heating in the private sector.

A small share of Yakut coal is sent to the metallurgical enterprises of the Urals. The main consumers of coal products from the Elga deposit are the states of the Asia-Pacific region: China, Korea, Japan.

Don't count the diamonds

Coal alone would not justify such a large investment. Some transportation costs cost a pretty penny: by cars from the mine to the factory - from the factory to the transshipment point - by train along the BAM to the port of Vaninsky - by dry cargo ship to the consumer. Black ember becomes gold.

But during the exploration of the territory, rare earth elements tungsten and molybdenum, ore gold, diamonds and ornamental stones, granite in demand in construction.

Reconnaissance of the territory is not completed, reserves are being calculated. According to geologists, another 20 billion tons of coal can be excavated around the Elga deposit.

MICEX Issuer

The situation withexploration of a new deposit, financing, volumes of production and sale of coke, coal was constantly used by players on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange. For three years from 2008 to 2011, quotes rose from 100 rubles to 1000, that is, 10 times. And then there was a decline, as investment brought only pessimism at the end of the year. The lazy sideways movement continued for 5 years, until rumors about Gazprombank's participation in the strategic project passed.

From August to November 2016, Mechel shares rose to 200 rubles. Now optimism has diminished due to another unprofitable year. But the company has been tasked with commissioning additional capacities at the processing plant, bringing the section of the railway to perfection and handing it over to Russian Railways, increasing production to 4.5 million tons per year.

Squeeze

In the 20th century, taiga grew on the site of an open coal deposit. Now there is no forest, the open bowels are gathering dust, national strategic reserves are sailing across the cordon.

Russians are not greedy, they can share we alth. But companies implementing global projects need to think carefully about what they will leave to their descendants - a livable land or lunar landscapes.