20 Aug 2009 14:18

New player enters Far East coal market

VLADIVOSTOK. Aug 20 (Interfax) - The hitherto unknown LLC King Coal Far East won an auction for the rights to the North West section of the Surazhevskoye coal field in Russia's Primorye territory, the local branch of the Russian Federal Subsurface Resources Agency (Rosnedra) told Interfax.

Interfax was unable to ascertain who owns the company, which bid against LLC Regional Coal Company and offered 1.8 million rubles, or just above the starting price of 1.5 million rubles, for a 25-year license to explore and mine the 59-hectare site containing probable P2 reserves of 4 million tonnes of bituminous coal, the resources agency said.

The Surazhevskoye field is in the Artemovsk municipal district.

An auction for the Sergeyevskoye field, in the Partizansk district, was called off due to lack of interest.