Managing Company Elga-Sibanthracite (ELSI), owned by Albert Avdolyan, asked the authorities to increase its rail shipments to the Far East by 1.1 mio t of coal a month for the next 2 years. In return, the company promises to reinvest profits in accelerated construction of its own railway line.
The new 500-km railway line will connect Elga coking coal deposit and the Okhotsk Sea coast, where a coal terminal with a capacity of 30 mio t per year is also planned to be built.
The project includes two stages. After the first stage of construction the capacity of the railway line will amount to 15 mio t by the end of 2024. The second stage is planned to be completed in November 2025 and would expand the capacity up to 30 mio t.
In 2021, Elgacoal production totaled 15.0 mio t. In 2022, the coal output is expected to reach 20.2 mio t (+5.2 mio t or +34.7% y-o-y). The Elga coal deposit is one of the largest deposits of coking coal in the world with overall reserves of around 2.2 billion t (according to JORC classification).
Source: CAA
