Coal company Elga-Sibanthracite (ELSI), owned by Albert Avdolyan, has commissioned the new open-pit mine Verkhneteshsky in Kuzbass.
The reserves of Verkhneteshsky total 79.1 mio t of T-grade coal, according to JORC classification. In November 2022, the open-pit mine is scheduled to produce 30 kt and ramp up coal extraction up to 1 mio t by September 2023.
The Sibanthracite Group obtained a license for the Verkhneteshsky coal area in 2018. In 2021, Glavgosexpertiza approved the construction project for the first stage of the open-pit mine with a production capacity of 5 mio t of coal per year. The volumes are planned to be exported to the Asia-Pacific.
ELSI was established this year as a result of the merger of Albert Avdolyan’s coal assets: Elgacoal and Sibanthracite. ELSI is the third largest coal mining company in Russia. Its enterprises are located in Yakutia and Kuzbass as well as in Khabarovsky, Primorsky, Novosibirsky and Amursky regions. In addition, the company owns the port of Vera coal terminal in the Far East. ELSI is also involved in the construction of a railway from the Elga coal deposit to the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, where it plans to build the Elga port with a handling capacity of 30 mio t of coal per year.
In January-October 2022, Sibanthracite’s production amounted to 19.7 mio t (+1.5 mio t or +8.3% y-o-y), while Elgacoal’s output increased to 16.6 mio t (+4.9 mio t or +41.3% y-o-y).
Elga is one of the largest coking coal deposits in the world with total JORC-compliant reserves of 2.2 billion t.
Source: CAA
