Over 10 years, the processing plants of the Kuzbass Fuel Company produced 40 million tons of coal concentrate
In 2023, it will be 10 years since the launch of the complex of processing plants at the Vinogradovsky open-pit mine of the Kuzbass Fuel Company. During this time, the enterprise’s two processing plants, Cascade and Cascade-2, processed 60 million tons of thermal coal and produced 40 million tons of commercial products – high-calorie coal concentrate, which is shipped mainly for export.
Now the annual production capacity of the Cascade enrichment plant is 3 million tons, and the Cascade-2 plant is 5 million tons of coal. Their total hourly productivity is 1250 tons/hour. An increase in production capacity by 30% was made possible thanks to a comprehensive modernization of equipment and technical re-equipment, which were implemented at the enterprises in 2014 and 2021.
Coal enrichment is carried out in heavy media – an aqueous solution with a magnetite suspension using combined equipment (hydrocyclones, separators, screens, centrifuges, etc.) of Russian and foreign production.
The technological process consists of 12 stages and allows the enrichment of coal of different grades – from 0.2 to 150 mm. An important stage of the enrichment process is product quality control. The factories of the Kuzbass Fuel Company provide automatic sampling and preparation of samples of both coal entering the enrichment process and all finished products before shipment to the consumer.
The coal enrichment process is organized taking into account compliance with environmental standards and requirements. Water is used in a closed cycle with treatment at treatment facilities. Water, purified to established standards, is returned to the factory for the coal processing process and other household needs.
As a result of coal processing at the processing plants of the Vinogradovsky open-pit mine, the consumer receives fuel with a calorie content of 5500–5700 kcal/kg.
– The production assets of Kuzbass Fuel Company include one of the largest coal mining enterprises in the region - the Vinogradovsky open-pit mine, its own railway infrastructure and sales enterprises in 4 regions of Western Siberia. And enrichment plants occupy a special place in the company’s structure. The quality of coal is now a decisive factor in global competition. Enriched coal is of higher quality and environmentally friendly, and, accordingly, the most competitive. It is especially in demand among foreign consumers in the Asia-Pacific region. The uniqueness of CPC enrichment plants lies in their high level of digitalization and automation of all production processes. Currently, the staff of two CPC enrichment plants is about 300 people, but with the growth of the enterprises’ production capacity, new jobs will, of course, be created for residents of Kuzbass, – says Evgeniy Dmitriev, managing director of the Kuzbass Fuel Company.
