OREANDA-NEWS. February 09, 2010. Russia’s second biggest coal miner Kuzbassrazrezugol lifted coal exports in the crisis year of 2009, but will reduce coal shipments abroad this year, making domestic coal sales a priority, Reuters wired quoting the coal producer’s chief executive Vasily Yakutov as saying.

Kuzbassrazrezugol, Russia’s No. 1 producer of premium thermal coal, cut production volumes in 2009. Yakutov noted that the company plans to extract 49.5 mn t of coal in 2010, including 3.6 mn t of coking coal grades. This year consumers will receive 48 mn t of coal and the company will allocate 1.5 mn t to meet the coal needs of the Kemerovo region.

In 2010 the coal producer will export approximately half of the products extracted – this will consist only of thermal coal grades (around 24 mn t) – and has no plans to change coal shipment routes.