Russia's United Industrial Corporation (OPK) has announced that it has signed an agreement with Japan-based company Mitsui & Co. for the joint development of the Elegest coking coal deposit, located in the Russian republic of Tyva.
According to the agreement, Mitsui & Co. is to provide a part of the required expense for the feasibility study and, in return, will have a priority option to acquire a minority stake in the Elegest coking coal project.
The project includes the construction of a mine complex and of 460 km of railway to be connected with the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Federal Railway Transport Agency of the Russian Federation has agreed to provide half of the funds required for the railway construction.
The Elegest coking coal deposit, owned by OPK's subsidiary OPK Mining, is one of the largest undeveloped coalmines in the world, with reserves of approximately 900 million metric tons of high quality metallurgical coal. By 2014 OPK plans to increase the deposit output to 12 million metric tons of coking coal per year, thus becoming the largest high quality raw material supplier in the Russian and international market.
The feasibility study for the Elegest coking coal deposit is scheduled to be completed in 2009.