Belon Increases Coal Production

During the first 5 months of 2007, Belon Group increased its total coal production by 31% (462,000 tons) compared to the similar period of the last year— to reach 1,950,000 tons.

In January–May this year, 1,022,000 tons of steam coal were produced at the Listvyazhnaya mine—it is a record-breaking result in the mine’s history. Growth of coal production at the Listvyazhnaya mine, as compared to the respective period of 2006, amounted to 28% (225,000 tons). Such increase was made possible due to commissioning of face No. 1108, which is the largest face on record of the mine’s operation. Its reserves are estimated to be 1,600,000 tons of coal. The face is fitted with the machinery of the leading world producers—a shearer produced by the British Joy Mining Machinery Ltd. Company, a multisection jack manufactured by the Chinese machine-building plant, and hydraulic power units purchased from the German Tiffenbach GmbH Company. The total coal production projected for the Listvyazhnaya mine in 2007 is 2,700,000 tons.
In accordance with the results of the past five months, the total production of steam coal with preproduction mining at the Novobachatsky-1 open-pit mine amounted to 1,051,000 tons (26% growth as compared to the respective period of the last year).

The growth of coal production at the Listvyazhnaya mine and the Novobachatsky-1 open-pit mine was followed by the increase in Belon’s sales of steam coal by 33%—to amount to 958,000 tons. The volume of 531,000 tons of coal out of the given amount was exported—this is 1.9-fold more than that of the last year. Steam coal was sold to Great Britain, Finland, Japan, Poland, and Ukraine.

In January–May 2007, the Belon mines produced 899,000 tons of metallurgical coal, which is 37% (245,000 tons) more than the respective index of 2006. In particular, since the beginning of the current year, the miners of the Chertinskaya-Koksovaya mine have extracted 563,000 tons of coal (22% growth as compared to the period of January–May 2006), and the workers of the Novaya-2 mine—155,000 tons of coal (9% increase). Preproduction mining at the Novobachatsky-1 open-pit mine resulted in production of 181,000 tons of metallurgical coal, which is 3.5-fold more than the volume of coal production in January–May 2006. The total volume of steam and metallurgical coal to be produced at the mines of Belon Group in 2007 is estimated to be 4.7 mln. tons.

In January–May this year, the Belovskaya central coal preparation plant (CCPP) prepared 1,847,000 tons of raw coal and produced 1,274,000 tons of metallurgical coal concentrate. The quality of coal concentrate produced at the Belovskaya CCPP remains to be of a high grade.

In the first five months of the current year, Belon's customers received 1,275,000 tons of metallurgical coal concentrate—this is 29% (283,000 tons) more than that of the last year. Such significant sales growth was achieved through the increase in demand of the regular customers, and also due to signing of new contracts with the leading metallurgical companies of Russia.