USSR: underground mining predominates
In 1978, the Soviet Union remained the world's largest producer of all ranks of coal; the nation produced a total of 724,000,000 metric tons of hard coal and brown coal/lignite. Although total coal production in 1978 was slightly higher than in 1977, it did not reach the planned target of 746,000,000 tons. The Soviet Union's major reserves (70%) of hard coal and lignite are concentrated in the eastern part of the country. As recoverable reserves have become depleted or more difficult to mine in the western basins, investment for developing new capacity (especially surface mines) in the eastern basins has grown. However, production in the eastern part of the country has been much greater than consumption in the region. As consumption in European USSR has increased and demand has not been met by the western mines, large volumes of coal must be transported from the east over distances up to 3,500 kilometers. This has imposed severe constraints on transportation. Plans to develop industrial, fuel and power centers in eastern USSR, the completion of the Baikal-Amur railway, and the construction of high-voltage electricity transmission lines and coal slurry pipelines, are expected to solve this problem. According to the current Five-Year Plan (1976 to 1980), additional coal mining and preparation facilities are to be commissioned in 1979 to 1980 with an annual capacity of about 77,500,000 tons of raw hard coal and lignite.
- OSTI ID:
- 5722176
- Journal Information:
- World Coal; (United States), Journal Name: World Coal; (United States) Vol. 5:11; ISSN WOCOD
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
012000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Mining
ASIA
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
COAL INDUSTRY
COAL MINING
CONVEYORS
CUTTER LOADERS
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
EUROPE
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
INDUSTRY
LONGWALL MINING
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
MINING
MINING EQUIPMENT
PLANNING
POWERED SUPPORTS
PRODUCTION
PRODUCTIVITY
SUPPORTS
SURFACE MINING
TRANSPORT
UNDERGROUND MINING
USSR