Russia’s Mechel Mining is planning to invest RUR2.9bn ($80.4m) on maintenance of its production facilities this year.
The company will install new equipment for its facilities as part of its technical revamping programme.
With the exception of the Elga Coal Complex, all facilities will be installed with new equipment.
Under the programme, Mechel has already spent RUR1.2bn ($33.2m) on its Southern Kuzbass Coal Company and Korshunov Mining Plant.
Mechel OAO CEO Oleg Korzhov said: “Over the past few years we have been paying particular attention to modernising our mining segment’s production facilities and launching equipment that would enable us to cut expenses and, accordingly, production costs.
“Even now when our financial situation is not entirely unclouded, the technical revamping programme is being implemented in full, as mining is meant to become our company’s chief growth point according to Mechel’s strategy.”
The new equipments include ESH-20/90 walking excavator, which is currently being assembled at the Krasnogorsky pit, and a RUR1bn ($27.7m) dragline with 90m boom being installed at Southern Kuzbass for overburden mining.
The assembly, commissioning and launch of the dragline is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, a unit of Mechel, is also installing a tunnelling machine at its Lenina mine that will allow the plant to mine and transport raw coal from horizontal and slanting mine openings. The machine will be launched in August.
In addition, Southern Kuzbass is assembling a new Scharf ZL 200-130-900D diesel locomotive at its New-Olzherassk mine for transportation of personnel and cargo to mine openings.
The locomotive features a transport platform and can transport up to 48t of cargo and can work on surfaces with angles of up to 30°, which is scheduled for commissioning later this month.
Korshunov Mining, another unit of Mechel, will also assemble a Liebherr R9250 mine excavator at its Rudnogorsky mine.
Scheduled to start operating from mid September, the excavator will have the capacity to mine more than 200,000m³ of rock mass a month.