[Ferro-Alloys.com] Overall Russian coal output fell in the first quarter of this year, but some coking coal mining firms raised output.

 

Mechel's Kuzbass-based asset, Yuzhny Kuzbass, increased production by 90.4pc to 2.82mn t. The firm's total coal output reached 5.16mn t in the first quarter, up by 46.5pc on the year.

 

Russian thermal and coking coal producer Taltek increased output by 12pc to 1.5mn t in January-March. Taltek aimed to produce 10mn t of coal this year, a source close to the firm said at the end of last year. Thermal and coking coal producer Resurs boosted output by 21.4pc on the year to 1.96mn t.

 

But integrated steelmaker Severstal reported a 29pc quarter-to-quarter decline in coking coal sales from its Vorkutaugol subsidiary, to 950,000t in the first quarter, which it said was a result of a longwall repositioning at the Komsomolskaya mine.

 

Coal output in Russia totalled 99.2mn t in the first quarter, down by 9.3pc from the same period of 2019, preliminary data from state energy information agency CDU TEK show. Output in the Kemerovo region, which is home to the large Kuzbass coal basin where most of Russia's coal mining assets are located, dropped by 11.5pc on the year to 53.6mn t. It accounted for around 54pc of the country's total coal production. The overall drop was partially offset by stronger output in other Russian regions. (Argusmedia)