Ukraine's Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry has stated that in 2015 the government will close seven of the country's coal mines, while five more will be idled temporarily.
"Out of the 35 remaining mines, we will close seven. They have almost run out of resources. Such mines will be shut down," said deputy energy minister Yuriu Zyukov. "Five more mines will be idled temporarily. These mines have resources - around half a billion metric tons.
It would be unwise to shut them down now. When a private investor appears, such mines will be put into operation again", said the deputy minister.
It should be noted that, due to the military activity in eastern Ukraine, state-owned coal companies are expected to produce 9 million mt of coal in 2015, down by half year on year.