En+ doubles coking coal output in Tuva
MOSCOW. Aug 24 (Interfax) - LLC Tuva Mining Company, a member of Oleg Deripaska's En+ Group which operates the Kaa-Khem and Chadan strip mines in the Republic of Tuva, almost doubled coking coal production in H1 2010 compared with the same period of last year to 339,000 tonnes, the company said in a statement.
Output at the Kaa-Khem mine more than doubled to 289,500 tonnes, and output at Chadan rose 39% to 49,800 tonnes.
Coal shipments rose 96% year-on-year to 341,000 tonnes, 40% of them outside Tuva. The main consumers are power plants and utility providers in Siberia, but the company supplied its first coal to steel mills in Russia and Ukraine in February.
The company borrowed 600 million rubles in July to top up working capital and buy new equipment, which has increased productivity and reduced mining costs.
The company, while serving as a dependable suppliers for local needs, intends to "expand the markets for Tuvan coals and achieve our strategic goal of producing up to 1 million tonnes of high grade coal per year in the next three years," said Andrei Churin, managing director of En+ Group's coal business.
Tuva Mining Company acquired the rights to the Kaa-Khem and Chadan strip mines, with commercial reserves of more than 80 million tonnes of coking coal, in November 2009.