Russian plans major coal extraction drive

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 28 Aug 2019 by Alex Teddy

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President Putin held a meeting for governors of Russia's seven main coal mining regions to congratulate them for their work. The Energy Minister Alexander Novak made a speech on the success of the coal industry. He claimed that over the past decade Russian coal extraction has increased by 30%. It now exceeds 440 million tons. This makes Russia the third largest coal producing country on earth. Over the past 10 years investment in the coal industry has increased 150%. There is a draft document on developing coal production to reach 670 million tons of output per annum by 2034.UN sanctions have taken North Korean coal off the market. Russia is able to fill the gap. Despite the absence of North Korean coal the world price is dipping a little. This is another reason to increase production because Russian coal companies are struggling to break even. The irony is that increasing coal production will further reduce prices. Environmental concerns have made many countries reluctant to burn coal. The EU is particular is phasing out coal. Russia is keen to get coal out of the ground because in a couple of decades time people might stop burning it altogether. Renewable energies are increasingly viable therefore coal does not appear to have a long term future. Asian countries are less preoccupied with the environment. However, even in China the government is listening to public discontent over air quality. The Russian Government professes to care about the environment but this does not sit well with approving a massive increase in coal mining. There are 58 operational coal mines in Russia. Half of them opened over the past 20 years. That is partly due to older coalfields having the...