Coal production in Russia's key producing area of Kuzbass declined 2.0% or 1.1 million tonnes from a year earlier to 52.8 million tonnes in January-March 2024, according to the Ministry of Coal Industry of Kuzbass.

Coal produced from opencast mines stood at 34.5 million tonnes, down 2.3% or 0.8 million tonnes year on year, while that from underground mines fell 1.6% or 0.3 million tonnes on the year to 18.3 million tonnes.

Production of coking coal reached 17.3 million tonnes, a rise of 1.8% or 0.3 million tonnes year on year. Thermal coal extraction volumes decreased 3.8% or 1.4 million tonnes on the year to 35.5 million tonnes.

As of April 1, 2024, coal stocks in Kuzbass totaled 21.5 million tonnes, 9.1% or 1.8 million tonnes higher than the year-ago level.

Sanctions and the growing practice of suspending operations at Russian coal mines and open-pit mines could potentially hinder the production and supply volumes of high-quality Russian coal to the global market in 2024.

Some other factors would also contribute to the negative impact, including higher railroad tariffs implemented by Russian Railways, the introduction of export duties, and the removal of priority for coal shipments through railways due to limited capacity in the Eastern region.

In 2023, coal output in Kuzbass declined to 214.2 million tonnes, down 4.2% or 9.4 million tonnes compared to 2022.

(Writing by Riley Liang  Editing by Alex Guo)
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