Zhalyn Coal Mine

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Zhalyn Coal Mine (разрез Жалын) is an operating coal mine in Zhanaark, Ulutay, Kazakhstan.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Zhalyn Coal Mine	Zhanaark, Ulutay, Kazakhstan	47.4055239, 70.4301656 (approximate)

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

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	2009	–

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
–	0.4	2020	Surface	Open Pit	4015	60*	528

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
49.1	–	–	–	Bituminous	–	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
TOO Saryarka Energy	TOO Saryarka Energy	Kazakhstan

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
ROM	–	–	–	0.4*	–	–	–

Expansion/Extension

Table 6: Project status

* Added capacity of a coal mine refers to the enhancement in the mine's production capabilities beyond its initial production capacity.

Status	Status Detail	Project Type	Project Phase	Added Capacity (Mtpa)*	Start Year
Proposed	Announced	Expansion	–	2.6	–

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

Background

Zhalyn Coal Mine (разрез Жалын) is a surface mine in Ulytau region, Kazakhstan. Saryarka-ENERGY LLP owns and operates the mine. The contract for mining with the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan was signed in 2008 and runs for 25 years.

The mine started operations in 2009.

According to the outdated company's website, between 2015-2019, the planned volume of coal production was 1 million tonnes per year. Starting from 2020, coal production at the mine was planned to increase to 2 million tonnes per year.

Information on the mine is very limited. A media article from 2021 mentioned that the mine produced 0.4 million tonnes in 2020 with a plan to increase the mine's production to 1 million tonnes.

A media report dated January 2025 referred to the coal mine's continued operations, but cited production levels of only 2,000 tonnes per year. (this could be a mistake). Extracted coal is shipped to Uzbekistan, Poland and Latvia, Belarus and several towns of Kazakhstan. The company was in the process of building a coal preparation plant.

Expansion

In April 2023, an announcement was published of the company's plans to expand production to 3Mt (with a maximum of 3.6 Mt). The expansion plan follows the increased demand for coal and the planned construction of a coal preparation plant to produce higher quality finished products, which will allow to produce higher quality finished products and expand sales in Kazakhstan as well as for exports. The project entails to start mining in the 'Severny' section in addition to the currently operating 'Central' section.As of January 2025, there was no further news on the proposed expansion except that coal preparation plant is in construction process.

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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.