The Russian steel producer Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) plans to start construction work on its Zhernovskoe-1 coking coal mine in 2010. The designed capacity of the new mine, located in the Novokuznetsk region, amounts to three million mt of coking coal per year.
Accordingly, in 2009 NLMK will invest Ruble 23.5 million ($702,816) to finalize the initial explorations of the Zhernovskoe-1 coking coal deposit, which has an estimated 240 million mt of coal reserves. The tender for the project is to be carried out in the third quarter of 2009, and it is expected that the mine will reach its designed capacity in 2016. In addition, at the coking coal deposit NLMK plans to construct a loading station and an ore dressing plant, from where the concentrate will be delivered to NLMK.
The license for the exploitation of the Zhernovskoe-1 coking coal deposit was acquired by NLMK from the Russian state in 2005.