January – August coal production figure announced

Coal production output in January – August grew 3.2% as compared to the like period of 2010, the State Agency for Statistics reported September 14. Production figure for the period made up 65.6 million tons, including 8.4 million tons in August. Kazakhstan is ranked 8th in terms of coal production, holding 4% of the global coal reserves. Coal accounts for 80% of power generated in Kazakhstan. Earlier it was reported that Kazakhstan plans to increase coal production output to 134 million tons by 2015, raising the figure further to 151 million tons by 2020. Investments to develop the coal industry to 2020 will make up $ 3.4 million. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit , Bogatyr, the largest open-pit coal mine in the world, is located in Ekibastuz in the north-eastern region of Kazakhstan. It has total reserves of 4.5bn tonnes. The mine is managed through a joint venture between the state holding company, Samruk-Kazyna, and a Russian firm, UC Rusal. It operates under the name Bogatyr Coal (amended in March 2009 from Bogatyr Access Komir), which was set up in 2008 after Rusal transferred 50% of its deposit to Samruk-Kazyna for a sum of US$345m. The joint venture intends to increase production to 60m tonnes annually.