Mittal Steel, one of the world steel giants, intends to buy Elegest coal
minefield, Tuva. It is going to be a 1 billion dollar deal between the foreign company who with this step can come to the Russian market and Mezhprombank whose Yenisei Industrial Company owns the licence for developing Tuvan coal, Kommersant daily reports.
Elegest minefield disposes of 1 bln tn of the high quality coky coal. The whole reserve is estimated at 20. It is one 6 mtr-thick layer of coal. Th Yenisei company bought the licence in 2002 but it was to start extraction only in the end of this year. Up to now there is a problem of transporting the coal. The only connection is an autoroad. The expenses reach 15-20 dollars for a ton to deliver it to the destination.
It is a firm belief that its is 'thanks' to Pugachiov, Tuvan senator, owner of the Mezhprombank, that the railway project Kyzyl-Kuragino was skillfully lobbied into the reality. The Tuvan railway was included into the Russian Transport Strategy with Tuvans unaware of it.
Mittal Lakshmi Plan to Buy Elegest Coal Minefield
