Coal imports to Kyrgyzstan have almost halved. The National Statistical Committee provided such data, Azernews reports, citing 24.kg News Agency.

According to statistics, from January to September 2023, about 469,500 tons of coal was imported into the country. Of this amount, the supply of solid fuel is 459,400 (821,500 tons were imported into the Kyrgyz Republic for the same period last year). The supply of brown coal reached 10,100 tons.

Almost all imported coal comes to the country from Kazakhstan.

Earlier, the Ministry of Energy reported that in preparation for the autumn-winter period of 2023-2024 it was planned to supply 1.2 million tons of solid fuel for the Bishkek Heating and Power Plant. Of this, 550,000 tons are imported D grade coal.

Source: Azer News

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ArcelorMittal Temirtau is working with government agencies to assess the cause of the accident at the mine.

Afire at the ArcelorMittal-operated Kazakhstanskaya coal mine in Kazakhstan has killed five workers.

Approximately 227 employees were working at the Kazakhstan mine site at the time of the accident, which occurred on 17 August 2023.

Located in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region, the mine is owned by ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the Kazakh mining unit of ArcelorMittal.

ArcelorMittal Temirtau said that an accident liquidation plan was immediately launched and 222 people were rescued from the site.

Commenting on the accident, ArcelorMittal Temirtau executive director Viktor Gafiulov said: “We systematically worked to improve the level of mine safety, and this accident caused serious damage to all our efforts. No words that can be said now can comfort families who have lost loved ones.

“On behalf of ArcelorMittal Temirtau, I deeply regret this accident and that we were unable to successfully evacuate everyone from the mine. We will do everything in our power to support the affected families.”

The company said it is working with government agencies to assess the causes of the accident.

ArcelorMittal Temirtau currently operates an integrated steel plant in Temirtau, as well as eight coal mines across Karaganda and four iron ore mines in central and northern Kazakhstan.

The steel plant has an annual capacity of four million tonnes of crude steel. It produces hot and cold rolled steel, tin plates, galvanized steel and polymer-coated coils, welded pipes, coke, and chemical by-products.

In June 2023, ArcelorMittal agreed to divest its idled iron and steel plant in the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, Couva, Trinidad, to Trinidad and Tobago’s TT Iron Steel Company for an undisclosed sum.

Source: Mining Technology

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, August 7. The volume of Kyrgyzstan’s brown coal production amounted to 1.267 million tons from January through June 2023, which is 12.8 percent more than in the first half of 2022, Trend reports.

According to the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, brown coal production increased in June 2023. The country produced 163,200 tons of brown coal during that month, which is a 20.4 percent rise compared to 135,600 tons produced in June 2022.

On the other hand, the country’s bituminous coal production declined 8 percent year-on-year in the period from January through June 2023 – from 255,200 tons to 248,000 tons.

However, in June 2023, there was a 14 percent increase in Kyrgyzstan’s bituminous coal production. The volume grew from 60,700 tons in June 2022 to 69,200 tons in June 2023.

Overall, there was an 8.3 percent increase in the production of bituminous coal and brown coal in Kyrgyzstan from January through June 2023.

Kyrgyzstan produced a total of 3.6 million tons of brown and bituminous coal in 2022, which is 20 percent more than in 2021.

Source: Trend News

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China imported US$42 million ($63 million) worth of Australian coal last month, according to government data, the first confirmation that Beijing has lifted an unofficial ban on the key export.

China customs data for January and February released this week shows 73,982 tonnes of coking coal and 134,254 tonnes of thermal coal were imported from Australia.

The total of 207,236 tonnes was a fraction of the 92 million tonnes of coal Australia exported to China in 2019, but analysts said they expected volumes to increase, now that the unofficial ban designed to punish the former Morrison government had been abolished.

Coal imports from Indonesia, Mongolia and Russia overshadowed the volumes from Australia in the same period. The data also shows China is stepping up coal imports from Russia as it seeks to bolster economic ties with Moscow despite Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The volume of coal from Mongolia imported to China during the first two months of the year increased more than fivefold to more than 8 million tonnes. Russian coal imports also more than doubled to 14.8 million tonnes. Indonesian imports rose 84 per cent to 35 million tonnes.

Last month, S&P Global said three Chinese state-owned power plants – China Datang, China Huaneng Group and China Energy Investment – as well as steel producer China Baowu Steel Group had received permission to import Australian coal. Analysts said there were larger volumes of Australian coal currently on their way to China.

Today Think Tank, a China-based consultancy, said about 2 million tonnes of Australian coal was on its way to China that was not reflected in the current data. Bloomberg said last week that China would allow all domestic companies to import Australian coal.

Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coking coal with a market share of about 56 per cent.

A resumption in Australian coal exports follows a thawing in bilateral relations since Anthony Albanese met Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali in October.

The Albanese government has asked China to remove sanctions on $20 billion worth of Australian exports, including coal, wine, seafood and other products imposed in 2020. There have been indications China is also easing restrictions on Australian lobsters, cotton and timber.

In January, China imported about 502 tonnes of timber-related products with another 449 tonnes in February, state media reported.

Trade Minister Don Farrell hopes to visit China this year.

China has never formally acknowledged the political bans imposed after the Morrison government called for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. Politically motivated sanctions would breach international trading rules.

Last week, China’s Ministry of Commerce declined to confirm whether the coal ban had been lifted, or whether one had been imposed in the first place.

“China implements automatic licensing management for coal imports, and automatic coal import licences can be applied for normally,” a ministry spokeswoman said when asked to confirm if the ban had been lifted.

“What needs to be emphasised is that China manages foreign trade in accordance with WTO rules and Chinese laws and regulations, and it is inappropriate to misinterpret relevant management methods as restrictive measures.”

Source : Financial Review

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