The Russian steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) has announced that it has won the right to develop the third mining area in the Usinsk coal deposit (Usinks-3) located in the north of Russia's Komi Republic. The license, worth Ruble 900 million ($30 million), will be obtained within two months.
Usinks-3 has over 227 million mt of on-balance reserves of high-quality hard coking coal (grades Zh and KZh, Russian C1 + C2 categories of reserves), with the Kyk-Shor railway station being located within the field boundaries.
Within the next seven years, NLMK plans to complete geological exploration activities, draw up a technical design for the commercial development of the deposit and launch the construction of a mining facility.
The mine's commissioning is planned for 2016, reaching the designed capacity of approximately 4.5 million mt in 2018. As part of the development, a railway line of approximately 3 km in length will be constructed, connecting the facility to the Kyk-Shor station.
"This step is completely in line with our strategy aimed at enhancing the long-term efficiency and sustainability of our business by increasing integration into the production of high-quality raw materials," NLMK's president Alexey Lapshin commented.