World leader in coal mining. Coal: mining in Russia and in the world

What is coal? How is it mined? What are the types of this mineral? You will find answers to all these questions in our article. In addition, the world's leading coal-producing countries will be listed here.

and how is it obtained?

Coal is a mineral, one of the main fuel resources of the planet. It was formed in the thickness of the earth's crust due to the long-term accumulation of the remains of ancient plants in the absence of access to oxygen.

The first link in the long chain of coal genesis is peat. Over time, it is blocked by other sediments. Peat is compressed, gradually loses gases and moisture, transforming into coal. Depending on the degree of transformation, as well as on the carbon content, it is customary to distinguish three types of this mineral:

• (carbon content: 65-75%);
• (75-95 %);
• anthracite (over 95%).

In Western countries, the classification is somewhat different. Lignites, graphites, bituminous coal, etc. are also isolated there.

Coal is extracted from the earth in two main ways:

• open (or quarry), if the depth of productive formations does not exceed 100 meters;
• closed (mine) when the coal is too deep.

The first method is much simpler, more profitable and safer in terms of organizing the extraction process itself. However, it causes more tangible harm to the environment.

Leading countries of world coal mining

What countries currently produce coal in the largest volumes? These countries are presented in the table below.

Approximately the same states are leading in terms of coal reserves. True, in a slightly different arrangement.

The leading coal mining countries in Europe are Germany, Russia, Poland and Ukraine. The largest coal basins in this part of the planet are: Ruhr (Germany), Upper Silesian (Poland), Donetsk (Ukraine).

Coal mining: arguments for and against

If there is coal in the bowels, then why not extract it from there? This is one of the main arguments in favor of coal mining. Indeed, it was this fuel that man first used for his own purposes. It was thanks to coal that the 19th century was completed. Burning one kilogram of this gives a person about 25 MJ of energy. However, it is very difficult to call this energy clean and safe ...

Leading countries-leaders in coal mining (their first ten) annually extract about seven billion tons of solid fuel from the earth. Of course, such an amount of extracted resource cannot but affect the environment on a global scale. The burning of coal, according to scientists and ecologists, makes a significant contribution to the overall global warming of the Earth, which, in turn, provokes dangerous and most unpredictable climate changes.

It is the factor of environmental safety that is forcing many highly developed countries of the world to reduce the rate of coal mining in their territories. In Europe, many mines have been mothballed in recent decades. True, interest in them may revive as the global gas and oil reserves are depleted.

The deterioration of the seismic situation in the area is another weighty argument against active coal mining. The fact is that the extraction of any mineral from the earth's crust on such a scale never goes unnoticed. In areas adjacent to coal mines or cuts, the risk of earthquakes, man-made landslides and sinkholes increases significantly.

Finally…

One way or another, the rate of global coal production is increasing by about 2-3% every year. First of all, at the expense of the corresponding enterprises and mines of the USA, Russia, Ukraine, India, China and a number of other Asian countries.

And the leading countries today are China, the USA and India. Every year they extract over 5 billion tons of this solid fuel from the bowels of the Earth.

Coal mining

Coal plays an invaluable role in modern life, it is used by almost all spheres of management, not only industrial, but also private. Production is growing every year - this is due to technological progress, which makes it possible to mechanize the main processes and increase production.

General statistics

Worldwide, only 70 countries have significant coal deposits. But only thirty have high indicators not only of production volumes, but also of solid fuel exports.

Last year, coal production in the world amounted to about 7 billion tons. At the same time, 75% of the total volume was provided by four leading countries in coal mining:

• India;
• Australia.

In this list, Russia occupies only sixth place. The absolute leader is China, it alone provides 1/3 of the total volume.

The dynamics over the past ten years show a steady increase in production in China and India. The volumes of the USA and Russia are gradually decreasing. The main exporter of coal is India - 421755000 tons per year. Australia is in second place with an indicator of 332,363,000 tons. Russia is in third place, by a wide margin, with 150,720,000 tons. China is in 13th place with an indicator of 10,224,000 tons - the bulk of the produced goes to domestic consumption.

Features of mining in China

The list of countries in terms of coal production is headed by the PRC - a breakthrough began in 2010, the peak year was 2014, when the country produced 3680 million tons. But since the first quarter of 2015, there has been a slight decline in production. This is due to a decrease in demand in the domestic market. Since 2014, China has significantly reduced coal exports by 42%.

All extracted raw materials are left for domestic consumption. Therefore, production volumes will be gradually reduced. The decrease in the share of exports is explained by non-competitive prices. Causes:

• in China, mining is carried out with a significant share of manual labor;
• the mines are old, reconstruction has not been carried out for many years;
• high death rate of miners.

Despite significant production volumes, China is the main importer of coal. The country accounts for 44.2%. This volume of consumption is explained by the large number of power plants, the main fuel of which is coal. The country buys raw materials from Australia. In the last two years, export-import relations with Mongolia have been developing.

Extractive Industry Challenges in the US

The United States of America ranks second in terms of solid fuel reserves in the world, second only to Russia. But in 2015, there was a sharp decline in production. This is primarily due to a decrease in demand in the domestic market.

Power plants using coal as fuel are gradually becoming unprofitable and cannot compete with those using gas. The cost of its production is lower than coal, while America has the largest deposits of shale gas. With their active development, the entire coal industry may be less in demand. Calculations have already been made, the results of which show that about 10% of the solid fuel reserves may not be used at all.

Export of coal (USA) Open deposits are already practically worked out. And underground ones are expensive to maintain and require significant investments in major repairs. Modernization will further increase the cost of production, which will entail an increase in the cost of electricity produced by power plants. Energy companies will be forced to switch to gas in order not to lose consumers.

In 2015, 1016458000 tons were mined in the country. Of these, 889738000 tons went to domestic consumption, and 126720000 were sold.

The rapid pace of production in India

India is increasing the volume of coal production every year (649644000 tons). The main mining company, Coal India, sets itself the task of developing as many fields as possible. In the previous year alone, stripping operations increased by 37%, which will give an increase in production by 50 million tons this year.

Such a rapid increase in volumes is due to a strong import dependence. In previous years, India was the leader in terms of coal purchases.

A feature of production is that a significant part (40%) comes from the private sector. The state of the industry leaves much to be desired: multiple deaths of miners who extract coal in an artisanal way. In developed countries, such mining has long been abandoned, but in India it is also progressing due to the influx of miners from nearby Nepal and Bangladesh.

The miner's profession in India is considered highly paid - on average, earnings are $ 150 per week. According to another statistical data (unconfirmed) - up to 70 thousand children work in the mines.

The ratio of domestic consumption and exports in Australia

Australia produces 463,783,000 tons of coal per year. At the same time, most of it is exported to the countries of Southeast Asia (332363000 tons). But due to the rapid increase in production in India, the demand for Australian raw materials is declining.

Therefore, the mining company (Glencore Xstrata) decided to cut production by 15 million tons. The Agence France-Presse published data that over 150 employees will be out of work as a result of such a reduction. But the company assures that personnel will be redistributed among all operating mines.

How are things in Russia

In Russia, the extraction of hard coal is carried out at 192 enterprises, of which 121 are developed by an open method. The deposits are located in the following federal districts:

• Far East;
• Northwestern;
• Siberian;
• Privolzhsky;
• Ural;
• Central.

In total, it was mined in 2015 (according to the Central Dispatch Department of the Fuel and Energy Complex) - 373,362 thousand tons; an increase compared to the previous year - 4.2% or 14,345 thousand tons. Most of the coal comes from Kuzbass - 215 million tons, in the Kansko-Achinsk deposit - 38.2 thousand tons.

Video: Modern coal mining

Moscow, August 27 - Vesti.Ekonomika. Coal is a key type of fuel in the global energy sector. It accounts for almost 40% of the world's electricity production. Thus, it is coal that is the leading source of electricity.

Coal dominates the global energy arena due to its abundance of resources, availability and widespread use throughout the world.

Coal reserves are estimated at 869 billion tons at the current level of production. This means that there should be enough coal for almost 115 years.

It is noted that significant coal reserves are located in Asia and South Africa.

Despite the fact that recently there has been more and more talk about renewable energy sources and linking the use of coal to global climate change, it is coal that has accounted for the largest increase in energy consumption in recent years.

Almost 90% of all world coal is mined by 10 countries of the world. Below we will talk about the largest countries producing coal.

10. Ukraine

In 2013, coal production in Ukraine amounted to about 64.976 million tons. However, to date, coal production has declined significantly due to the armed conflict in the country, which will especially affect the eastern regions.

It is also important to note the fact that statistics on coal production in the country may not always be unambiguous, depending on how data on the LPR and DPR, which are important coal-producing regions, are taken into account or not.

In 2017, 34.916 million tons of coal were mined in Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Energy and Coal of Ukraine. Recall that in 2016 Ukraine increased coal production by 2.82% to 40.86 million tons.

Thus, in 2017, coal production in Ukraine decreased by 14.5%.

The gap from the plan for 2017 of 35.322 million tons was 1.1%.

Approximately the same figures are given by BP statistics: according to their data, in 2017 Ukraine produced 34.375 million tons.

9. Colombia

In 2013, the level of coal production in Colombia reached 85.5 million tons.

This was 4% below the target level of 89 million tons. Coal exports were estimated at 94.3%.

The National Mining Agency announced an 18% increase in mining.

8. Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan ranks 8th in coal production. As of December 2012, production here amounted to 116.6 million tons.

In terms of consumption, Kazakhstan ranks 12th, with coal accounting for 85% of all power plant capacity.

Estimated coal reserves in the country are about 33.6 billion tons. There are more than 400 coal mines in Kazakhstan.

7. South Africa

South Africa produces about 260 million tons, thus, the country ranks 7th in terms of production.

In addition, the country ranks 6th among the largest coal exporters in the world.

As of 2012, coal exports amounted to 74 million tons.

South Africa supplies coal mainly to European countries, China and India.

It is noted that coal accounts for almost 90% of South Africa's electricity.

6. Russia

Russia ranks 6th in terms of coal production.

According to 2012 data, production amounted to 354.8 million tons, of which 80% is thermal coal, and the rest is coking coal.

Russia also ranks 5th in terms of coal consumption.

If we talk about exports, then, according to 2012 data, the country exported 134 million tons, becoming the third largest exporter in the world.

5. Indonesia

Indonesia ranks 5th in coal production with 386 million tons.

Indonesia and Australia have long been major competitors in coal production, with near-identical production figures.

However, in 2011, Indonesia overtook Australia, and now Australia leads the region.

Coal accounts for 44% of Indonesia's electricity.

According to 2012 statistics, the country's coal reserves amount to 5.5 billion tons.

4. Australia

Australia's coal production reached 413 million tonnes in 2013, making the country the fourth largest in the world.

Australia exports about 90% of its coal, occupying one of the leading places in the world in terms of exports.

In 2012, coal exports amounted to 384 million tons. Australia's coal reserves are estimated at 76.4 billion tons.

3. India

Coal production in India reaches almost 605 million tons, thus, this country is in 3rd place in terms of coal production in the world.

In addition, India ranks third in terms of coal consumption in the world.

India is also one of the three largest importers of coal - about 160 million tons per year. It is overtaken only by China and Japan.

68% of the country's electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants.

2. USA

Coal production in the United States, according to data for 2012-2013, amounted to 922 million tons, which is approximately 13% of the global level of coal production.

It is the second largest producer as well as the second largest consumer of coal in the world.

Thus, coal consumption in the United States is approximately 11% of the global level.

Almost 37% of the electricity in the country is generated by coal-fired power plants. US reserves are approximately 237 billion tons.

1. China

China has been the largest coal-producing country in the world for almost thirty years.

As of 2013, the level of coal production was almost 3.7 billion tons, which is 47% of the global coal output.

The country also consumes more than half of the world's consumption.

In terms of reserves, the country ranks 3rd - 114.5 billion tons as of December 2012.

The editors of "K" represent the top ten countries with the largest explored coal reserves.

More than 90% of the total explored world coal reserves are in 10 countries.

1. USA

In first place among them is the United States with the world's largest proven reserves of coal of all types, accounting for more than a quarter (26.6%) of the world's reserves. The total reserves of hard and brown coal in the country are estimated at 237,295 million tons. They can last for about 245 years. Also, the USA is the second country in coal production with a share of about 12% of world production.

2. the Russian Federation

The second largest volume of coal reserves is concentrated in Russia. It is 157,010 million tons, which is more than 17% of the total world reserves. However, most of them are not suitable for development, since they are located in the permafrost region in Siberia. At the same time, explored reserves will last more than 500 years.

3. China

China closes the top three in explored coal reserves. Its subsoil contains 114,500 million tons of coal, or 12.8% of the total world volume. China is also the world's largest coal producer, accounting for more than 46% of fossil fuel production.

4. Australia

In fourth place was Australia, whose reserves amount to 76,400 million tons, or 8.6% of the world's reserves. The country is also the world's largest exporter of coal. It accounts for about 30% of sea transportation of coal. Half of coal exports go to Japan, the rest goes to the EU countries and the Asia-Pacific region, mainly to the UK and the Netherlands.

5. India

The fifth largest amount of proven reserves is in India. This is 60,600 million tons or 6.8% of the world's proven reserves. India is also in third place after China and the United States in terms of coal production (7.7% of global production).

6. Germany

The next country in the ranking was Germany with 40,548 million tons of proven coal reserves (4.5% of world reserves). However, only two hard coal mines are currently operating in Germany, which are scheduled to close in 2018. The main reasons for the country's refusal of coal are the low profitability of underground mining and the transition to renewable energy sources.

7. Ukraine

Ukraine with 33,873 million tons of proven reserves (3.8% of world reserves) is in seventh place in the ranking. However, in terms of industrial coal production in the country, there has been a strong decline for several years due to shrinking markets, lack of funding and war in the east of the country.

8. Kazakhstan

Our Republic settled in eighth place in the ranking with 33,600 million tons (3.8% of world reserves). This is enough for more than 300 years. At the same time, all the main segments of the coal industry are represented in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The extraction and use of thermal coal has received special development.

9. South Africa

In the Republic of South Africa, explored coal reserves amount to 30,156 million tons (3.4% of world reserves). At the same time, due to the lack of oil in the country, about 80% of all electricity is generated precisely by burning coal.

10. Indonesia

Indonesia has 28,017 million tons of coal (3.1% of world reserves). Moreover, 44.9% of electricity produced in the country is generated using coal.

Read also the countries importing the largest volumes of Kazakh coal.

What are the main problems of Kazakhstani fintech?

It may take at least two to three years for the fintech market to form into some kind of understandable “substance”, experts say

The fintech market of Kazakhstan will continue to develop not only in the direction of lending, but universal declaration can also provide considerable support to the industry. Experts believe that it is time to expand the understanding of the term itself.

The concept of "fintech" in Kazakhstan continues to be associated primarily with online lending services. Little by little, the services of payments, transfers and electronic money fill the niche. But in order for the market to form into some kind of understandable “substance”, it may take at least two to three years, experts say. “There is no fintech that would represent original ideas, innovative fintech ideas in the full sense of the word, which could be developed not only in Kazakhstan, but also beyond its borders. They probably don’t exist on the market, and this is the saddest thing that can be said about our fintech,” this opinion was previously expressed by the managing director of Centras Rashid Dyusembaev.

What slows down fintech?

Although, on the one hand, the view is rather harsh, on the other hand, there is no need to say that fintech as an industry in Kazakhstan certainly exists. However, there are some nuances regarding the very definition of the term. “If we talk about that fintech, as it is perceived today in the United States or, roughly speaking, in other markets, then the term “fintech” still means fintech startups, and this is not enough in Kazakhstan now,” says the chief startup specialist AIFC fintech hub Taras Volobuev.

This is where the main problem lies, which does not move the fintech and fintech startups market forward. “If we look at startups now, they are mostly young IT people, mostly programmers. But in fact, the fintech environment will move in our country when a more mature audience begins to engage in fintech projects,” Mr. Dyusembaev believes.

Taras Volobuev also says that fintech startups are still the work of experienced people who are familiar with the industry from the inside. In addition, he notes the lack of entrepreneurial initiative as a factor in Kazakhstan. But under these conditions, the situation can be changed. “Then start-ups of a completely different quality will appear, because they will be created not by students, but by people who come from the financial industry, who understand how to build it, who have money, who are able to hire quality people. Then, probably, there will be a push,” Mr. Volobuev suggests. And this applies not only to fintech separately, but also to the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem of Kazakhstan.

Some regulatory problems or restrictions in this situation do not play a key role. It is the so-called staff shortage that is stopping both fintech and the IT industry as a whole. In addition, in order to develop new technological financial products without violating the law, the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan initiated a regulatory sandbox project, about which, by the way, there is little official information yet.

“One of the problems of IT in Kazakhstan, in principle, is the shortage of personnel. There are not enough specialists to develop startups. Accordingly, highly qualified specialists are needed both from the field of finance and from the field of IT,” says the director of ExSolCom LLP. Vladimir Mastyaev.

General Director of the online accounting service "Bukhta.kz" Aset Nurpeisov noted that the fact that we are in a global market complicates the attraction of technical personnel. After all, the task of a fintech, and even more so a fintech startup, is to create a universal product for any market.

“The personnel problem could be overcome if there was the same attraction of investments as in America or other countries,” Nurpeisov said. Thus, insufficient funding also creates a staffing problem for the industry.
Nevertheless, it is precisely the “underdevelopment” of fintech in Kazakhstan that can play into our hands. Experts expect that in the near future there will be niches where fintech can develop.

Growth points

So, according to Vladimir Mastyaev, universal declaration, which will be introduced in Kazakhstan from 2020, will allow driving fintech.

“Now there is a lot of cash, cash payments in the country. One way or another, universal declaration will lead to its decrease and to an increase in online payments, non-cash payments. This will be a specific driver. The sooner this is introduced, the more people will be involved in non-cash payments,” Mastyaev predicts. He added that nano- and micro-crediting remains among the promising areas. He especially emphasized the development of this direction in pawnshops. “Micro and nano lending will develop most rapidly, especially in the online version,” he believes.

In this article, we will get acquainted with the list of countries that are leaders in coal mining. In addition, we will consider the main features of this process and the existing problems in the coal mining industry, as well as find out where coal is mined in Russia.

Features of coal mining

Coal is a mineral that is one of the main fuel resources on our planet. It is formed in the bowels of the earth's crust due to the fact that for a long time the remains of ancient plants and microorganisms accumulated in it without access to oxygen. Currently, there are several options for extracting this mineral.

The first coal mining took place at the beginning of the 18th century. A century later, the final formation and development of the coal industry took place. For a long time, miners extracted coal from the bowels of the earth with ordinary shovels, they also actively used picks. In the future, simple tools were replaced by jackhammers. Currently, all modern equipment is used in the mines, which allows mining with maximum speed and convenience.

The most commonly used coal mining methods are:

The cheapest way to mine coal is open pit. This method is the easiest, cheapest and safest. Large excavators cut off the top layer of the earth, which blocks access to coal deposits. Then coal is extracted in layers and loaded into special wagons.

Underground (mine). Unlike the first, this method is more time-consuming and dangerous. The underground mining method has to be used because a large number of reserves are located deep underground. For mining, multi-meter mines are drilled, from which dissected coal seams are extracted.

The hydraulic method is widely used, which is based on the fact that a jet of water is supplied under high pressure, which breaks the coal seams and is fed through a special pipeline to the production workshops.

Leading countries in coal mining

China is the unattainable leader. Almost half of the world's coal reserves are mined in this country, with an annual figure of around 3,700 million tons. The rest of the countries are far behind China.

Coal reserves in the world and have the following indicators:

1. China - 3700 million tons;
2. USA - 900 million tons;
3. India - 600 million tons;
4. Australia - 480 million tons;
5. Indonesia - 420 million tons.

Russia is not among the top five and is in 6th place with an indicator of 350 million tons per year. After it, slightly yielding, comes South Africa, then Germany and Poland, and Kazakhstan, as well as Ukraine and Turkey close the top ten.

Coal mining in the world, million tons

Which countries in Europe have large coal reserves?

In Europe, most coal is mined in Germany and Poland. The total amount of coal mined in the European Union is just over 500 million tons per year. The total world production is 9,000 million tons. On average, each inhabitant of the planet accounts for 1000 kg of coal per year.

This amount, which is supplied by the leading countries in coal mining, is quite enough to provide energy and fuel to the whole world, since along with oil and gas, a sufficient amount of resources is produced that can satisfy the needs of society. Currently, the focus is on more environmentally friendly and safer methods of extraction, so as not to harm the environment.

Leading countries in coal production in 2017

This year, the leading countries in the production of hard coal have not changed, China still occupies the first place. The rest of the states cannot even come close to the volume that is mined in the Middle Kingdom. The leading countries account for about 90% of the total amount of coal produced. The list of leading countries has not changed for several decades.

Every year countries produce more and more coal, thereby increasing the total reserves of this mineral. The processes of extracting coal from the bowels of the earth are constantly being improved, making it possible to automate the process and significantly increase the volume of extracted fuel.

Coal mining in Russia, million tons

Our country is rich in minerals and extracts them both for its own needs and for export to foreign countries. Russia is among the top ten countries that are leaders in coal mining and annually it produces about 350 million tons. In terms of the reserves of this mineral, our country is in second place, second only to the United States.

70% of hard coal is mined in an open way. As already mentioned, it is safer and less time consuming. But there is one main drawback, which is serious damage to the environment. With open mining, deep craters remain, the integrity of the earth is violated and rock falls appear.

The remaining third is accounted for by underground coal mining in mines. This method requires not only high physical costs from the miners, but also modern, improved technology. It is worth noting that half of all tools and fixtures are significantly outdated and in need of modernization.

Coal deposits in Russia

The following entities are leading in coal mining:

• Krasnoyarsk Territory, partly Irkutsk and Kemerovo Regions;
• Ural;
• Rostov region;
• Irkutsk region;
• Yakutia.

Kuzbass is considered to be the main region for coal mining. More than half of the total coal production in Russia is mined there. The largest deposits and deposits of coal are concentrated in this area.

Conclusion

Millions of tons of coal are mined every year in the world. The countries that are at the top of the list and are the leading countries in terms of coal reserves not only use the mineral for their own needs, but also actively export it to other states, thereby improving their economic condition and making multibillion-dollar profits.

Mining is a labor-intensive and complex process that requires certain knowledge and skills. This also requires special tools and high-tech equipment, which can significantly reduce the time to extract minerals from the bowels of the earth and increase coal reserves. Different countries use different methods of coal mining. Someone prefers a safer method, sacrificing speed, while others rely on the volume produced.

The leading countries in coal production in 2017 remained unchanged. This rating has remained unchanged for many years. Leading positions are occupied by China, and our country is in 6th place, however, in terms of reserves, our country is in the top three. Russia supplies coal to many countries, providing them with the necessary volumes of fuel.