OREANDA-NEWS. October 9, 2012. KOKS Group, the world’s largest exporter of merchant pig iron and a leading producer of merchant coke in Russia, announces that its subsidiary Koks-Mining OOO continues development of Lutuginsky seam of its Vladimirskaya mine. The first portion of coal of this seam is expected to be extracted in September 2013.

Resources of Lutuginsky seam include around 4 million tonnes of high quality K grade coal. Seam thickness varies between 0.8 and 2.2 metres. The seam is qualified as thin bed and with irregular strike. From the other hand there are stable roof rock and stable footwall in the seam due to the depth of its bedding.

Development of the longwall face No. 1 of Lutuginsky seam includes 5 kilometers of drilling operations. Currently 2 kilometers of drilling operations are completed. The first portion of coal is expected to be extracted from the longwall face No. 1 in September 2013. Development project for the seam is almost completed. According to the project, resources of the longwall face No. 1 are around 250 thousand tonnes. Production capacity of 50 thousand tonnes of coal per month would allow total extraction of this volume in five months. Having completed extraction in the longwall face No.1, mining operations will proceed in the longwall face No. 2.

New modern mining equipment will be supplied to Vladimirskaya mine within the project of Lutuginsky seam development. A contract is made with the company KOPEX (based in Poland) to supply mining complex. The total value of the complex will reach 11.3 million EUR. The complex includes powered roof support complex TAGOR 08/23, shearer MB 12 produced in Czech Republic, longwall conveyor RYBNIK, belt elevator GROT. Electro hydraulic managing system will be supplied by MARKO company (Germany). This system would increase safety standards and efficiency of mining operations in the seam. The equipment will be supplied point-by-point starting from the first quarter of 2013. Additionally the machines will be used to develop Vladimirskaya-2 mine. The same set of equipment is purchased for Butovskaya mine, which is on the final construction stage. In case of need both complexes can replace each other.

Vladimirskaya-2 mine will start operations in 2016 and before that time coal extraction from Lutuginsky seam will secure stable coal supplies from Vladimirskaya mine. Around 350 thousand tonnes of coal remain in Vladimirskaya-1 field. This volume will be extracted within the first half of 2013.