Tentekskaya Coal Mine

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Tentekskaya Coal Mine (шахта Тентекская) is a mothballed coal mine in Shakhtinsk, Bukhar-Zhyrau, Karaganda, Kazakhstan.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Tentekskaya Coal Mine	Shakhtinsk, Bukhar-Zhyrau, Karaganda, Kazakhstan	49.79279, 72.581348 (exact)

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

Loading map...

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Mothballed	Care and Maintenance	1979	–

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
–	1	2020	Underground	Longwall	–	500*	*

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
20	–	278	Karaganda	Bituminous	Met	ArcelorMittal Temirtau steel plant

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Qarmet JSC	Qazaqstan Steel Group LLP	Kazakhstan

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

The Tentekskaya Coal Mine (Шахта Тентекская) is an underground coal mine in Karaganda Region, Kazakhstan. It used to be owned by ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC, the Kazakh subsidiary of ArcelorMittal. It is part of ArcelorMittal's Karaganda Mine Complex, which supplies coal to the ArcelorMittal Temirtau steel plant.

Following the tragic accident at Kostenko coal mine on 28 October 2023 killing 45 people, Kazakh President ordered his cabinet to stop investment cooperation with ArcelorMittal Temirtau. Arcelor Mittal confirmed on October 28th that they have been in discussions with the government and recently signed a preliminary agreement for a transaction that will transfer ownership of ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC to the Republic of Kazakhstan. The sale was completed in December 2023. Under the terms of the transaction, on closing ArcelorMittal has received consideration of $286 million and a further $250 million as repayment of outstanding intra-group dues. ArcelorMittal will also receive an additional sovereign-fund guaranteed payment of $450 million, paid in four equal annual instalments, as repayment of an intra-group loan. The new owners is Qazaqstan Investment Corporation, as state-owned direct investment fund which is owned by the national holding Baiterek. Subsequently Qazaqstan Steel Group has become a new investor in the facilities of ArcelorMittal Temirtau. Qazaqstan Steel Group is owned by a Kazakh businessman Andrey Lavrentyev. At the same time, ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC was renamed Qarmet.

Operations and New Longwall

In October 2021, it was reported that the mine is nearing the completion of a new shaft that will allow to increase production. This project was launched already in 2017. The diameter of the shaft is 8 metres and total depth is 830 metres. With the planned launch of the project in 2023-2024, according the company, this was effectively to become a new underground mine. Production at the mine was said to average about 1 million tonnes, as of mid-2021.

In April 2023 the project of the new shaft was still under way, with total investments stated at USD 113.3 million. Commissioning has been delayed to Q1 2025. Tentekskaya coal mine has not been producing from the second half of 2021 and will be idle until 2026 (presumably, until the new shaft is commissioned).

As of November 2024, construction of the new shaft was under way. Kazakhstan-produced materials are used in the construction. A heating building, through which warm air already enters the horizon, an electrical substation, storage facilities, a heating main and a water main, as well as access roads have been erected. The shaft is 830 meters deep, approaching the reserves the D-6 seam. This will allow Tentekskaya mine to operate for about 20 years. A new longwall will be opened in 2025. A later source from January 2025 stated that construction is 70% complete but commissioning will take place in 2026. Planned production is 1.3 million tonnes in 2026.

Coal production by ArcelorMittal's eight underground mines in Kazakhstan declined from 11 million tonnes in 2015 to 7 million tonnes in 2022. In 2024, the new entity Qarmet under the new investor and management team extracted 6.5 million tonnes of coal and launched 6 additional longwalls. By 2028, the company planned to produce 9 million tonnes of coal. As per August 2024 reporting, on the instructions of the president of Kazakhstan, the operation of all eight mines of Qarmet was restored in the shortest possible time and large-scale work has begun to strengthen industrial safety.

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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.