IN ORDER TO RESTORE PROFITABILITY OF COAL MINING

Abstract

This article examines causes of the current profitability crisis in the Russian coal mining industry, which is caused by a combination of export sanctions, global energy transition, and high logistics costs. Reduced investment in the mining sector poses a risk of losing the reserve replacement in the medium term. Based on the economic (market) classification of coals and an analysis of actual traffic flows in 2025, structural imbalances in the use of coal raw materials have been identified, i.e. low-margin energy coals are exported over long distances, while more valuable coking grades are consumed domestically. The possibility of increasing the overall profitability of exports through redistribution of the coal flows is justified, provided that the stamp charging is gradually returned to the coke production process. It is shown that the introduction of this technology when renewing the coke base allows using lower-grade coal for coking, thereby freeing up high-margin grades for export, which potentially increases the efficiency of the Eastern Range of the Russian Railways by 16% and provides a significant fiscal effect for coal-producing regions.

Keywords

Coal industry, profitability of coal mining, coal exports, coking coal, thermal coal, economic classification of coals, coal logistics, Eastern Range of the Russian Railways, coal transportation flows, coke production, stamp charging, coke charge, Investment cycle in mining, coal chemistry, marginality of coal production, regional budgets, Kuzbass, sanctions, energy transition.

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