OREANDA-NEWS. December 21, 2007. A new coal production complex came into service at the Novaya-2 mine, which is incorporated in Belon Group. This is operated based on the ploughing complex manufactured by DBT, Germany. The equipment set also includes a DBT face conveyor, a loader and 144 jack sections produced by Glinik, Poland.

Now coal excavation at the mine, which operates in the area of thin bed (0.8–1 m) development, will be performed with the use of coal ploughing to significantly boost production, reduce ash content and the costs of the coal produced. After a few month preparation, face No. 603 is ready to be the first site to use the ploughing complex.

With the help of the new technology, the miners plan to produce 30,000 tons of coal in December, and bring the mine's monthly output to 50,000–60,000 tons in January and February. In March, the mine is expected to reach a stable production volume of 80,000 tons of coal. This rate will allow the Company to produce at least 750,000 tons of ‘black gold’ in 2008. In the long term, it is planned to bring the total production output at the Novaya-2 mine to nearly 1,000,000 tons of coal per year.

In addition, the complex will ensure higher safety of coal mining operations due to the automated production process and the introduction of the ‘mine–face’ method. The Novaya-2 miners were trained to operate the new equipment at the manufacturer’s training centre in Germany, to master the practices of the world leader in coal ploughing.