Kuzbass Coal Resources as a Factor in Choosing an Industrial Development Strategy

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is argued that open-pit coal mining, primarily for coking coal, is restricted to a horizon of 20–30 years. To increase production volumes, it is necessary to develop new technologies for the underground mining of coal reserves that have previously been associated with low-tech mining. We propose that the government program for the development of coal mining should include an assessment of the region’s “capacity for environmental coal mining” according to a) the degree of influence of existing enterprises and b) the consequences of mine closure. To incentivize mining enterprises to find innovative solutions to technological and environmental problems, we propose switching to a system in which mining enterprises compete for subsoil rights with preferential treatment given to enterprises that develop and implement new mining technologies.