Olzherasskaya Novaya Coal Mine

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Olzherasskaya Novaya Coal Mine (Шахта Ольжерасская-Новая) is a shelved coal mine in Mezhdurechensk, Mezhdurechensky, Kemerovo, Russia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Olzherasskaya Novaya Coal Mine	Mezhdurechensk, Mezhdurechensky, Kemerovo, Russia	53.8329901374245, 88.1343670746676 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Mothballed	–	2006	–

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
1.8	1.25	2022	Underground	Longwall	16	448*	400

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt)	Year of Total Reserves Recorded	Total Resources (Mt)	Coalfield	Coal Type	Coal Grade	Primary Consumer/ Destination
96	2021	573.99	–	Bituminous	Thermal	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Note: To access more comprehensive data on energy ownership, please visit the Global Energy Ownership Tracker.

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company PJSC [100.0%]	Mechel JSC	Russia

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

Note: The asterisk (*) indicates that the value is an estimated figure based on various factors, including the company's forecasted or reported monthly or quarterly production data, etc.

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
–	–	0.8	0.7	0	0.4	1.25*	*	–	–

Expansion/Extension

Table 7: Project status

* Added capacity of a coal mine refers to the enhancement in the mine's production capabilities beyond its initial production capacity.

Status	Status Detail	Project Type	Project Phase	Added Capacity (Mtpa)*	Start Year
Shelved	Construction	Expansion	–	0.4	2020

Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker August 2026 release.

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Background

Olzherasskaya-Novaya coal mine (Шахта Ольжерасская-Новая) is an underground mine in the Kuzbass coal field, near to the town of Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. The Olzherasskaya-Novaya underground coal mine is operated by Southern Kuzbass Coal Company (Southern Kuzbass), owned by Mechel.

Mining at the Olzherasskaya-Novaya underground mine started in 2008, followed by two additional areas that started producing in 2010.

The mine's capacity of 1.8 million tonnes. In 2019, it produced 0.7 million tonnes. In 2020 it was not operational: there was a self-heating of coal at the mine in 2019 which caused the temporary suspension of operations. The mine resumed operations in July 2021, producing 0.4 million tonnes for the year.

In the first half of 2024, Southern Kuzbass' total coal production decreased by 19% to 2.7 million tonnes.

In late 2024 it was reported that the mine suspended production for 6 months due to problems in the sector. The company indicaed that operations could resume if market conditions improved.

A working conditions assessment conducted at the mine in June 2025 suggested that the mine had at least partially resumed activity by that date. The mine had resumed operations by November 2025, when the Siberian Directorate of Rostechnadzor suspended mining works and referred materials to court after inspectors found that the mine lacked an approved technical project for its operations.

In December 2025, Mechel's CEO stated that Olzherasskaya-Novaya, along with Shakhta imeni Lenina, had been suspended as unprofitable and was under consideration for long-term mothballing, citing unfavourable mining conditions and coal prices.

Expansion

As per 2015 reporting, the second phase of the mine was planned for completion. Construction was reportedly started already in 2013, with a plan to increase total mine's capacity to 2.2 million tonnes. The first stage of construction was already completed, as of 2015. The project '2nd phase of the coal mine was also mentioned in Russia's 'Program for Coal Industry Development up to 2035' from June 2020, but without concrete operating parameters.

However with no news on the project since then, it appearred to have stalled. As per Southern Kuzbass 2023 annual report, works on the implementation of the 2nd phase have been almost completely stopped.

Southern Kuzbass Coal Company Mines

The Southern Kuzbass Coal Company is one of the two companies belonging to Mechel PJSC.

The Southern Kuzbass Coal Company includes four surface mines and three underground mines. All mines are located in southeast Kuzbass around the town of Mezhdurechensk. The Southern Kuzbass mines and the related washing plants produce semi-soft and semi-hard coking coal, anthracite, PCI and steam coal. The Kuzbass operations are connected by rail to the Trans-Siberian Mainline and substantially all products are shipped by rail. Products are generally shipped by rail to Russian customers, to northwestern Russian ports for European customers, to Port Posiet and Port Vanino for export to Asia and to Port Temryuk for customers in the Black Sea and Mediterranean basins.

As of January 1, 2021, in-situ reserves at Southern Kuzbass's seven coal mines were estimated at about 1.8 billion tonnes. The project capacity of the company’s mines total 15 million tonnes annually, while washing capacity totals 17 million tonnes.

Southern Kuzbass' reported coal production increased from 6.37 in 2022 to 7.3 million tonnes in 2023. However in the first half of 2024, the company decreased coal production by 19% to 2.7 million tonnes.

Coal production by Mechel's two coal companies equalled 10.9 million tonnes in 2024. In 2025, Mechel reported coal production of 7.3–7.6 million tonnes and stated it expected to increase production in 2026 by at least 1.5x, to about 11–12 million tonnes. The company noted that in May–September 2025 it temporarily suspended some loss-making underground operations (including the V.I. Lenin Underground Coal Mine and Olzherasskaya Novaya Coal Mine) and also paused extraction of unprofitable coal grades at certain sections of the Sibirginsky Coal Mine and Krasnogorsk coal mine, later restarting them as coal prices showed signs of recovery in late August–early September.

In early 2026, the Arbitration Court of Kemerovo Oblast initiated bankruptcy proceedings against Southern Kuzbass Coal Company following claims from creditors over overdue debts exceeding RUB 18 million (approximately $196,000). The main claimant, Raritek Auto Group LLC, cited more than three months of arrears amounting to RUB 18.8 million (around $204,350). Additional claims were filed by other creditors. A court hearing to examine the validity of the bankruptcy petition was scheduled for May 2026.

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Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.