Dzidziguri Coal Mine

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The Dzidziguri coal mine is an underground coal mine, operated by Saknakhshiri LLC in the Tkibuli- Shaori coalfield, Georgia.

The mine is one of two underground operation in Tkibuli, the other one is the nearby Mindeli coal mine.

Location

The satellite photo below shows the approximate location of the Dzidziguri coal mine in Tkibuli, Georgia.

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Background

The mine is owned and operated by Saknakhshiri LLC, which is the only mining company in Georgia. Since September 2019, Saknakhshiri Ltd has been owned by Steel International Trading Company Ltd. Previous owner was Georgian Industrial Group. As of today, there are two operating shafts in Tkibuli - the Dzidziguri mine and the larger Mindeli coal mine.

Coal exploitation in Tkibuli deposit started in 1825. In the 1950s, coal production in the four mines of the deposit exceeded 3 million tonnes per year. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, coal mining in Tkibuli was stopped. According to Global Methane Initiative, Mindeli mine resumed coal extraction in 2008 after a 15-year break.

Information on the mine and its production is very limited. In 2017, a presentation from the former shareholder Georgian Industrial Group shows the joint production of the two Tkibuli mines at 0.3 million tonnes, with a plan to reach 0.7 million tonnes by 2021. Actual coal production has been very volatile since then. 2018 and 2019 coal production in Georgia was affected by the suspension of operations for 13 months following the tragic accidents at the Mindeli mine in 2018. In 2020, Georgia only produced 50 thousand tonnes. In 2021, Georgia's production was 990 thousand tonnes according to the International Energy Agency, most of which comes from the Mindeli mine.

Transparency

The Georgia-based environmental organization Green Alternatives wrote a company profile of Saknakhshiri, which concluded:

like other companies, Saknakhshiri does not make publicly available information on: terms of mining license, terms and conditions of permit of enrichment plant and their fulfillment; damage caused to the environment as a result of company activities, planned and implemented measures to repair and/or reduce environmental damage; as well as on the state of the environment being affected by company's activities. Saknakhiri Ltd does not have its website any longer. Nor the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture provides information about the environmental conditions in the area affected by company activities, although, according to international and national legal requirements, this information should be available to the public proactively – without having to request the information.

Mine Details

• Owner: Saknakhshiri LLC
• Parent company: Steel International Trading Company Ltd
• Location: Tkibuli- Shaori coalfield, Tkibuli, Georgia
• GPS coordinates: 42.339430, 42.988558 (approximate)
• Mine status: Operating
• Production: 0.1 million tonnes (2021 estimate)
• Start year:
• Mineable reserves: 0.94 million tonnes
• Coal type: Bituminous
• Mine size:
• Mine type: Underground
• Equipment:
• Number of employees: