SUEK prioritising coal preparation

Developing coal preparation facilities is a priority for Russian coal company, SUEK, according to its Director General Vladimir Rashevsky. “We should not ship tones, but calories,” said Rashevsky at the International Coal Preparation Congress in St Petersberg.

According to Rashezsky, demand for high-quality coal will continue to grow, particularly from Asian countries that are developing modern coal-fired power plants designed to use such coal. “Therefore it is important to offer the market enriched coal,” Rashezsky said.

“In the long run, we aim to enrich almost all SUEK coal that goes for export. Therefore, we plan to further expand our preparation facilities in all regions in which we develop the extraction of hard coal,” concluded Rashevzky.

SUEK currently mines coal in the Kuzbass, Khakassia, Buryatia, Zabaikalye and Habarovk regions of Russia. The company began developing its preparation facilities in 2009, when it opened a new processing plant at the Tugnuisky opencast mine in Buryatia.

Since then, SUEK has become the leading processor of coal in Russia, said Rashevsky said, constructing a number of new coal preparation plants and investing around RUB 20 billion in coal preparation projects. As a result, it now processes around 38 million tpy of coal, up from 10 million t in 2008.

The International Coal Preparation Congress has been held every 3 – 4 years for the last 60 years. This year is the first time the congress has been held in Russia. Around 900 people attended the congress from 25 countries, including India, China, Poland and the UK.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/handling/01072016/suek-prioritising-coal-preparation-2016-/