Bachatsky Coal Mine

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Bachatsky Coal Mine (Бачатский угольный разрез) is an operating coal mine in Bachatsky, Belovsky, Kemerovo, Russia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Bachatsky Coal Mine	Bachatsky, Belovsky, Kemerovo, Russia	54.299431, 86.145779 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	1949	–

Table 3: Operation details

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
–	9.302	2021	Surface	Open Pit	33	400	2991

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt)	Year of Total Reserves Recorded	Total Resources (Mt)	Coalfield	Coal Type	Coal Grade	Primary Consumer/ Destination
310	–	–	–	Bituminous	Thermal & Met	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Kuzbassrazrezugol JSC	other unknown/mixed entity types [47.3%]; BusinessGlobus JSC [44.8%]	Russia

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

Note: The asterisk (*) indicates that the value is an estimated figure based on various factors, including the company's forecasted or reported monthly or quarterly production data, etc.

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Saleable	9	9	9	8	9	10*	–

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.

Background

Bachatsky coal mine, also spelled Batchatsky (Бачатский разрез) is a surface mine in the Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. The Bachatsky coal mine is owned and operated by Kuzbassrazrezugol JSC. It is one of the largest surface coal mines in Russia. It is also the deepest surface coal mine in Russia with depths of 400m.

In 2016 the mine was extended to allow up to 10 million tonnes of coal a year to be extracted.

As of 2020, coal was shipped to more than 16 countries and to 22 regions of Russia. Foreign consumers included countries in Europe, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and South America.

It appeared that a continuous expansion of the mined area was ongoing: in 2021, an assessment of Environmental Impact was released for the purposes of public consultation.

Production in 2021 reached 9.3 million tonnes. There are no exact 2022 production figures, however Kuzbassrazrezugol reported in its 2022 annual report that the volume of well drilling and the volume of rock blasting increased by 8% and 7%, respectively, compared with 2021. This can be an indication that production increased in 2022 by approximately the same amount.

Earthquakes

Between 2012–2013 the Bachatsky coal mine caused three large earthquakes. On the 18 June 2013 the mine caused the world's strongest ever earthquake induced by hard mineral mining had a local magnitude 6.1. Seismic activation of the territory at the Bachatsky Open Pit Mine affected Kuzbass towns. The earthquake damaged 500 Homes in Kemerovo Region. An official in Bachatsky village said the locals are afraid to enter their homes after the earthquake for fear of collapsing walls and so they were staying outside.

Earthquake of magnitude 2.2 was registered again in June 2022 with the epicentre at the mine.

• Owner: Kuzbassrazrezugol JSC
• Parent: Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (52.74%)
• Location: Bachatsky, Belovsky District, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia
• GPS Coordinates: 54.273009, 86.196231 (exact)
• Status: Operating
• Production: 9.3 million tonnes (2021), 8.9 million tonnes (2020); 9.5 million tonnes (2019)
• Capacity: 10 million tonnes
• Total Resource:
• Mineable Reserves: 310 million tonnes (2018)
• Coal type: Bituminous (Thermal and Met)
• Mine Type: Surface
• Start Year: 1949
• Source of Financing:

Opposition

Local people report problems associated with the mine. "Yevgeny moved to the village of Starobachaty a decade ago, there was a potato field in front of his house. Since then, the neighbouring Bachatsky coal mine has increased in its activity and today the field has been replaced by a huge spoil tip. Yevgeny says he is no longer bothered by the occasional detonations which shake his house. Still, he will never get used to the coal dust which spews from the mine.

Bachatsky coal mine (2017) courtesy of the Coal Action Network (UK)

‘When the wind blows this way, it is impossible even to go out. The dust gets in your mouth and in between your teeth,’ he says with a broken voice. ‘When the authorities come to inspect the situation, the mine suddenly stops its work. There is no more dust and no more noise. As soon as they are gone, it starts all over again.’ As Yevgeny recalls, the only environmental activists in the village were old pensioners who have passed away. As for himself, he does not have enough time to deal with the environmental problems. ‘When you are retired, then you have free time. But I have a family to feed.’"

There are reports of the Bachatsky mine producing a corridor of polluting dust of over 15 km, affecting 10 settlements and the southern area of the town of Belovo.

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Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.