Taldinskaya Gornaya Kompaniya (TGK) boosts coal output, exports
Kuzbass-based coal firm Taldinskaya Mining Company (TMC), also known as Taldinskaya, increased thermal coal output and exports last year after one of its mining assets more than doubled production on the back of an upgrade. The company plans to increase coking coal output in the next three years by upgrading its second mine. Taldinskaya exports the majority of its production.
TMC’s coal production surged by 64pc on the year to 4.6mn t in 2017, slightly exceeding the firm’s target of 4.5mn t. The rise was driven by higher output of bituminous G-grade coal at the company’s Taldinskoye-Kyrgayskoye mine. It lifted production to almost 3.2mn t last year, up from about 1.4mn t in 2016, state energy information agency CDU TEC data show. This was above the 2017 target of 2.9mn t. The growth was the result of launching new mining equipment at a new coalface of the mine in 2016, as part of TMC’s investment programme. TMC invested 2.7bn roubles ($46.2mn)) in the mine’s upgrade to increase its capacity to 3mn t/yr. The asset is expected to maintain production at around 3mn t/yr in the next few years.
Production at TMC’s second mining asset, Taldinskoye-Yuzhnoye, fell by 1pc on the year to 1.4mn t last year, CDU data show. The capacity of the mine is 1.7mn t/yr.
Taldinskoye-Yuzhnoye produces GZh-grade coking coal, and washes the material at the plants of other companies, as it does not yet have any washing facilities.
TMC estimated 2017 thermal coal production costs at around Rbs800/t, and coking coal at Rbs900/t. Costs including investment and commercial costs, such as storage and transportation to the loading station, were estimated at Rbs1,500/t.
The company has guided for flat coal output this year, at around 4.5mn t, including about 3mn t from Taldinskoye- Kyrgayskoye and the rest from Taldinskoye-Yuzhnoye.
TMC exports G-grade thermal coal from Taldinskoye-Kyrgayskoye as it is suitable for exports. The material has a calorific value (CV) of NAR 6,000 kcal/kg minimum, ash content of 12-13pc, sulphur content of 0.5pc and volatile matter of32-34pc. GZh-grade coking coal from Taldinskoye-Yuzhnoye is mainly supplied domestically for coke produc- tion. Taldinskaya ships coal through its trading branch Taldinskaya Trading Company, which also ships coal for other mining firms.
Exports boom
Last year TMC exported around 3.4mn t, up from 1.5mn t in 2016, Russian rail data show. Around 90pc of the company’s export shipments went to northwest Europe through Russian Baltic ports, mainly to power plants.
Exports to Europe almost tripled on the year to around 3mn t last year, according to rail data. The firm shipped the bulk through the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga after starting deliveries there in January 2017. Smaller volumes were delivered through the Russian Baltic port of Vysotsk last year, while in 2016 all dispatches to Europe went through this port, rail data show.
TMC’s prices for its thermal coal for European consumers are linked to the API 2 index, the company said.
TMC also ships some coal to Ukraine for coke production. Last year exports to Ukraine fell by 21pc to just over 350,000t, rail data show. Almost all of this was shipped to Ukraine’s vertically-integrated steelmaker Metinvest for its Avdiivka coke plant.
