The curtailment of underground coal mining in Russia looks inevitable in the long term, and the current period of high coal prices is the right moment to close part of the mines, Kirill Melnikov, head of the Energy Development Center (EC Center), believes.

Recall that after the largest accident in recent years at the Listvyazhnaya mine in the Kemerovo region, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to work out the termination of the issuance of new licenses for coal mining, as well as the closure of mines that are considered unsafe.

The instruction of the head of state must be completed by May 1, 2022, however, according to the RE Center, the Ministry of Energy has already proposed to the Cabinet of Ministers to tighten the issuance of new licenses, as well as to gradually close a significant number of old mines - up to 40 out of 92 mines operating in the country.

Melnikov notes that the phased closure of mines is a global trend and therefore seems to be an inevitable scenario in the long term. However, the pace of this process in Russia, as well as its scale, may be different depending on the approach of the Russian government, the RE Center emphasizes.

“Foreseeable future, the closure of at least part of the coal mines is inevitable, both for safety and climate reasons. This step will be less painful if it is done in an environment of high prices for thermal coal,” sums up the head of the RE Center.

bbabo.Net