Russia Halts Work at Coal Mines After Deadly Explosion


The Jerooy gold mine process plant, shown here during construction in mid-2006, is part
of a stock and cash deal by KazakhGold Group to acquire certain Oxus Gold assets in
Kyrgyzstan and elsewhere. Photo courtesy of Reuters.
Russia’s state safety watchdog has partially halted work at 12 Russian mines after safety checks following a mine blast that killed 108 people, Reuters reported. “As of today work has been stopped at 29 coalfaces at 12 mines in the region,” said Andrei Malakhov, head of the Rostekhnadzor watchdog in the Kemerovo region. The region is a coal-mining center. The mines where work had been stopped include three operated by Yuzhkuzbassugol, owner of the mine where a March 19 methane gas explosion killed 108 in Russia’s worst mining disaster in more than a decade. Smoke, pockets of gas and roof falls were hampering rescue efforts in the 300-m deep Ulyanovskaya mine in the Kemerovo region. The Federal Prosecutor-General’s office said the explosion occurred while equipment was being tested in the mine, one of Russia’s most modern. Local authorities declared three days of mourning, canceling entertainment events and flying flags at half mast. Ministry officials promised compensation of up to 2 million rubles ($77,000) to each family affected by the disaster. An estimated 203 people were working at the mine when the blast occurred. Officials said some miners had managed to reach the surface on their own. Accidents in Russia’s mines are frequent but the Ulyanovskaya complex was only opened in 2002. Authorities believed a failure to follow safety rules was the most likely cause of the disaster, the worst mining tragedy since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. About 3,500 km (2,175 miles) east of Moscow, the mine is at the heart of Siberia’s Kuznetsk basin, known as Kuzbass, which holds some of the biggest coal reserves in the world. The Ulyanovskaya mine belongs to the Yuzhkuzbassugol company, Russia’s largest underground coal mining firm, which is 50% owned by the country’s second-largest steelmaker Evraz. It supplies coal to fuel Evraz steel plants. Yuzhkuzbassugol’s management owns the other 50% and has operational control of the company.