Tentekskaya Coal Mine

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Tentekskaya Coal Mine (Тентекская) is an operating coal mine in Shakhtinsk, Bukhar-Zhyrau, Karaganda, Kazakhstan.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Tentekskaya Coal Mine Shakhtinsk, Bukhar-Zhyrau, Karaganda, Kazakhstan 49.79279, 72.581348 (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
Operating[1] 1979

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
1.2[2] 0[3] 2024[3] Underground Longwall[4] 830[3] 993.6975107*

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
20[4] 2021[4] 262[4] Karaganda Bituminous[4] Met[4] Steel Plant

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
Qarmet JSC [100.0%] Qazaqstan Steel Group LLP Kazakhstan

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
Saleable 0.68[5] 1*[6] 1*[6] 0[3]

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

The Tentekskaya Coal Mine (Шахта Тентекская) is an underground coal mine in Karaganda Region, Kazakhstan. It used to be owned by ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC, the Kazakh subsidiary of ArcelorMittal. It is part of ArcelorMittal's Karaganda Mine Complex, which supplies coal to the ArcelorMittal Temirtau steel plant.[7][8][9]

Following the tragic accident at Kostenko coal mine on 28 October 2023 killing 45 people, Kazakh President ordered his cabinet to stop investment cooperation with ArcelorMittal Temirtau.[10] Arcelor Mittal confirmed on October 28th that they have been in discussions with the government and recently signed a preliminary agreement for a transaction that will transfer ownership of ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC to the Republic of Kazakhstan.[11] The sale was completed in December 2023. Under the terms of the transaction, on closing ArcelorMittal has received consideration of $286 million and a further $250 million as repayment of outstanding intra-group dues. ArcelorMittal will also receive an additional sovereign-fund guaranteed payment of $450 million, paid in four equal annual instalments, as repayment of an intra-group loan. The new owners is Qazaqstan Investment Corporation, as state-owned direct investment fund which is owned by the national holding Baiterek.[12][13] Subsequently Qazaqstan Steel Group has become a new investor in the facilities of ArcelorMittal Temirtau. Qazaqstan Steel Group is owned by a Kazakh businessman Andrey Lavrentyev.[14] At the same time, ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC was renamed Qarmet.[15][16]

Operations and New Longwall

In October 2021, it was reported that the mine is nearing the completion of a new shaft that will allow to increase production. This project was launched already in 2017. The diameter of the shaft is 8 metres and total depth is 830 metres. With the planned launch of the project in 2023-2024, according the company, this was effectively to become a new underground mine.[17][18] Production at the mine was said to average about 1 million tonnes, as of mid-2021.[17][18]

In April 2023 the project of the new shaft was still under way, with total investments stated at USD 113.3 million. Commissioning has been delayed to Q1 2025.[19] Tentekskaya coal mine has not been producing from the second half of 2021 and will be idle until 2026 (presumably, until the new shaft is commissioned).[20][21]

As of November 2024, construction of the new shaft was under way. Kazakhstan-produced materials are used in the construction. A heating building, through which warm air already enters the horizon, an electrical substation, storage facilities, a heating main and a water main, as well as access roads have been erected. The shaft is 830 meters deep, approaching the reserves the D-6 seam. This will allow Tentekskaya mine to operate for about 20 years. A new longwall will be opened in 2025.[22] The D-6 seam was estimated to contain over 16 million tonnes of coal.[23] A later source from January 2025 stated that construction is 70% complete but commissioning will take place in 2026.[24]

In June 2025, a new longwall was launched at the lower seam of the Tentekskaya mine, where coal extraction had not been conducted since 2022.[25] A second longwall, designated 213 D6-1-S, was planned to be commissioned at the mine before the end of 2025, with projected reserves of approximately 1 million tonnes of high-quality coking coal.[26]

According to Qarmet's mining plan, production capacity at the mine was set at 133,000 tonnes in 2024, rising to 750,000 tonnes in 2025 and 1.3 million tonnes in 2026.[27]

Since 2024, Qarmet implemented a pre-drainage degasification project at the Tentekskaya mine, involving the drilling of boreholes from the surface to a depth of 750 metres. As of August 2025, six boreholes were operational, with two more at the launch stage. The plasma-pulse method reduced gas content in treated zones by 40–50%, with the degasification process lasting between three and five years.[23]

Qarmet Company

Coal production by ArcelorMittal's eight underground mines in Kazakhstan declined from 11 million tonnes in 2015 to 7 million tonnes in 2022.[20]

In 2024, the new entity Qarmet under the new investor and management team extracted 6.5 million tonnes of coal and launched 6 additional longwalls.[28]

In June 2025, Qarmet announced a five-year investment plan of $3.5 billion, of which $300 million was allocated to mine safety, with remaining funds directed at environmental initiatives and production modernisation.[29]

In 2025, Qarmet's Coal Department extracted 7.5 million tonnes of coal across all eight mines.[30]

By 2028, the company planned to produce 9 million tonnes of coal.[31]

Methane Plumes Detected Nearby

Global Energy Monitor researchers analyze satellite-detected methane plumes in order to determine whether they have been observed at or near the site of GEM energy assets. The satellite data provider creates imagery of individual methane plumes and estimates their emission rates at the time of observation. GEM has reviewed many of these plume detections against Google Earth imagery and GEM’s own energy infrastructure tracker data. The following table lists methane plumes which are associated with the energy asset or facility based on distance and manual review. (A full description of the analysis process is available in the Global Methane Emitters Tracker methodology wiki page.)

Table M1: Plume details

For additional details on this individual plume identification and others, see the Global Methane Emitters Tracker.
Observation date Satellite data provider Location of plume origin Methane emissions rate Additional plume information
2025-02-15T06:32:01+00 CarbonMapper, tan20250215t063201c00s4001-A 49.79816, 72.58869[32] 222.9764 kg/hr[32] Qaraghandy Region Methane Observation 2025-02-15, 1
2025-05-03T06:41:25+00 CarbonMapper, tan20250503t064125c00s4001-E 49.79675, 72.588[32] 452.6639 kg/hr[32] Qaraghandy Region Methane Observation 2025-05-03, 5
2025-05-03T06:41:25+00 CarbonMapper, tan20250503t064125c00s4001-G 49.80305, 72.58097[32] 557.5201 kg/hr[32] Qaraghandy Region Methane Observation 2025-05-03, 6

Articles and Resources

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.

References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20260630062202/https://tengrinews.kz/kazakhstan_news/kak-qarmet-planiruet-uvelichit-obyemyi-dobyichi-uglya-572526/. Archived from the original on 30 June 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. https://kz.kursiv.media/2024-09-13/zhnb-qarmetcoalplans/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://tengrinews.kz/kazakhstan_news/qarmet-shahte-tentekskaya-stroit-novyiy-vozduhopodayuschiy-554833/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 (PDF) https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/media/r4wjndhb/arcelor-mittal-annual-report-2021.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. https://www.arcelormittal.kz/index.php?id=10&pr=173. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. 6.0 6.1 https://www.vnedra.ru/novosti/svetloe-budushhee-shahty-tentekskaya-16179/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. Угольный департамент, ArcelorMittal Temirtau website, accessed Apr. 2021.
  8. Шахта «Тентекская», MiningWiki.ru, accessed Apr. 2021.
  9. Тентекская (шахта), Wikipedia (Russian), accessed Apr. 2021.
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  12. "Arcelor Mittal completes sale of Temirtau". corporate.arcelormittal.com. December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "О Корпорации". qic.kz. December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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  18. 18.0 18.1 "Светлое будущее шахты «Тентекская»". vnedra.ru. September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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  20. 20.0 20.1 "Казахстан в отношениях с Митталом выступает в роли терпилы". novoetv.kz. June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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  23. 23.0 23.1 "Na shakhte «Tentekskaya» prodolzhaetsya vnedrenie plazmenno-impul'snogo metoda dlya degazatsii". dprom.kz. August 28, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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  26. "Qarmet vozobnovil polnocennuyu rabotu shakhty "Tentek" posle trekh s polovinoy let prostoya". liter.kz. August 29, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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  28. "Qarmet увеличил угледобычу и производство стали". dprom.kz. January 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. "Qarmet планирует инвестировать 3,5 миллиарда долларов в устойчивое развитие в течение следующих 5 лет". gmk.center. June 5, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 32.5 url=https://data.carbonmapper.org/