OREANDA-NEWS. February 19, 2008.  The Kostromovskaya mine (under construction), which is incorporated in Belon Group, received first instalments of new high-capacity coal excavation equipment.

The new face complex was produced by Joy Mining Machinery, UK, the leading engineering manufacturer. Its cost is EUR 21 mln. The complex incorporates a cutter-loader, a face conveyor, a mechanized lining, surface equipment (a loader and a crushing machine), a set of electric equipment, and a control hydraulics system for the mechanized lining.

By now, the mine received 96 jack sections out of total 138 sections to be supplied in accordance with the contract. The whole complex will be delivered this year in March.

The equipment was purchased on the basis of the tender, the participants of which included five companies: PMG (Poland), ТAGOR S.A. (Poland), DBT (Germany), GLINIK (Poland), and Joy Mining Machinery Ltd. (Great Britain). Technical capabilities of the British equipment best fits the mining and geological conditions of the coal field used for the construction of the Kostromovskaya mine.

Installation of the new coal production complex will start in April this year at the face No. 1901, in the first working face of the mine under construction. The Kostromovskaya mine will be commissioned in July this year. The enterprise will start commercial coal production straight after it is put into operation. It is planned to produce the face reserves, which are estimated to amount to 945,000 tons of raw coal, over the course of 10 months. In the long term, the mine will continue increasing its production rates, and plans to reach the estimated production capacity and to arrive at the annual production of 2 mln tons of coal per year.