Coal in Ukraine
{{short description|none}}
File:Samarska Mine, Ternivka.jpg]]
Coal mining has historically been an important industry in Ukraine. Although the industry is often associated with the coal-rich Donets basin in the east of the country, other coal mining regions include the Lviv-Volhynian basin and the Dnieper brown coal mining basin. The Donets basin is Ukraine's most developed and largest coal mining region.
In 2013, Ukraine was the third largest coal producer in Europe. In 1976, national production was 218 million metric tonnes. By 2016, production had dropped to 41 million metric tonnes. The Donets Black Coal Basin in eastern Ukraine, with 90% of the nation's reserves, suffers from three connected problems: (1) mines are not profitable enough to sustain capital investment, resulting in aging mining equipment and processes, (2) the government, taking advice from the International Monetary Fund, has discontinued $600 million annual mining subsidies, and (3) the Ukrainian government refuses to buy from mines controlled by Russia.
History
{{multiple image
| direction = horizontal
| perrow=2
| total_width= 350
| header =
| footer =
| image1 = Before descent in mine «К.Skal’kovskiy» (subburbs of Lysychansk)..jpg
| alt1 =
| caption1 = Mine in Lysychansk (late 19th century)
| image2 = У вибої шахти. Початок ХХ ст. Донбас..jpg
| alt2 =
| caption2 = An early 20th century photograph of a pit in the Donbass
| image3 = The Donets Basin is the heart of Russia.jpg
| alt3 =
| caption3 = A 1921 Russian poster, with the caption Donbass is the heart of Russia
| image4 = RIAN archive 21733 Komsomol appeal.jpg
| alt4 =
| caption4 = Young girls arrive at the mines in Horlivka under the Komsomol appeal on 16 September 1930
}}
Coal mining has historically been an important industry in Ukraine.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=6 February 2022 |title=Photos: How war has devastated Ukraine's coal industry |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/05/europe/gallery/ukraine-coal-miners/index.html |access-date=26 February 2022 |website=CNN}} Coal first started to be produced in Ukraine in 1870, when it was part of the Russian Empire. In 1913, Donetz produced 87% of Russia's coal, and 50% of the metallurgical coal of the USSR. Like other Soviet enterprises, coal companies provided social facilities including schools and hospitals.{{cn|date=November 2024}} By 2013, Ukraine had become the third largest coal producer in Europe.{{cite news|last1=Vorutnikov|first1=Vladislav|title=Ukrainian Coal: An Industry Divided|url=http://www.coalage.com/features/4409-ukrainian-coal-an-industry-divided.html#.WeDdAWiPKM8|accessdate=13 October 2017|publisher=Coal Age|date=May 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014083502/http://www.coalage.com/features/4409-ukrainian-coal-an-industry-divided.html#.WeDdAWiPKM8|archive-date=14 October 2017|url-status=dead}}
Coal reserves
Ukraine's coal reserves are estimated at 60 billion tonnes, of which 23 billion are proven and probable, and 10 billion tonnes are economically extractable.{{cite book|title=Ukraine Coal Industry Restructuring Sector Report|date=4 March 1996|publisher=World Bank |url=http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/179841468778209054/pdf/multi0page.pdf|accessdate=13 October 2017}} In 2013, according to the Ukrainian mining trade union, coal constituted 95% of Ukraine's domestic energy resources.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22170976 | title=The coal-mining racket threatening Ukraine's economy | work=BBC News | date=April 23, 2013 | accessdate=24 April 2013}}
It has been calculated that 90 percent of Ukraine's coal reserves are located in the Donets Coalfield in the east of the country.{{Cite web |url=http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/coal/as/ua/p0005.htm |title=Ukraine - Mining: Coal Mining |access-date=30 August 2013 |publisher=M Bendi Information Services |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017075643/http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/coal/as/ua/p0005.htm |archive-date=17 October 2015 |url-status=dead }} In March 2017, the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko signed a decree that banned the movement of goods to and from territories controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, which stopped coal from the Donets Black Coal Basin being used in the rest of the country.[https://economics.unian.info/2338645-ukrainian-energy-industry-thorny-road-of-reform.html Ukrainian energy industry: thorny road of reform], UNIAN (10 January 2018)
Other Unkrainian coalfields include the Lviv-Volhynian Coalfield, between Lviv and Volodymyr, and the Dnieper Coalfield in central Ukraine, where lignite (brown coal) was mined until the 1990s.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
Coal mining
| class=wikitable style="text-align: center" | ||||||||||
| colspan=11 | Coal production in Ukraine 1860–2019, million tonnes (Mt)[http://www.rusnauka.com/13.DNI_2007/Istoria/21080.doc.htm ПРОМИСЛОВИЙ ПЕРЕВОРОТ ТА ОСОБЛИВОСТІ СТАНОВЛЕННЯ ІНДУСТРІАЛЬНОГО СУСПІЛЬСТВА В УКРАЇНІ][http://publications.lnu.edu.ua/collections/index.php/snote/article/viewFile/61/59 ДИНАМІКА РОЗВИТКУ ГІРНИЧОЇ І МЕТАЛУРГІЙНОЇ ПРОМИСЛОВОСТИ НАДДНІПРЯНСЬКОЇ УКРАЇНИ][http://esu.com.ua/search_articles.php?id=30072 ВУГІ́ЛЬНА ПРОМИСЛО́ВІСТЬ][http://ua.korrespondent.net/business/282719-u-2006-roci-ukrayina-zbilshila-vidobutok-vugillya У 2006 році Україна збільшила видобуток вугілля][https://economics.unian.ua/industry/595613-vidobutok-vugillya-v-ukrajini-v-2011-r-zbilshivsya-na-89.html Видобуток вугілля в Україні в 2011 р. збільшився на 8,9%][http://www.epravda.com.ua/news/2014/01/13/414238/ В Україні видобуток вугілля за рік скоротився на 2,6%][http://razumkov.org.ua/uploads/article/2016_ener_gal_pidsumky_2015.pdf ЕНЕРГЕТИЧНА ГАЛУЗЬ УКРАЇНИ: ПІДСУМКИ 2015 РОКУ][https://economics.unian.ua/energetics/1740112-vidobutok-vugillya-v-ukrajini-zris-do-41-milyona-tonn.html Видобуток вугілля в Україні зріс до 41 мільйона тонн] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year || 1860 || 1861 || 1862 || 1863 || 1864 || 1865 || 1866 || 1867 || 1868 || 1869 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | na | 0.1{{↑}} | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Year || 1870 || 1871 || 1872 || 1873 || 1874 || 1875 || 1876 || 1877 || 1878 || 1879 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Year || 1880 || 1881 || 1882 || 1883 || 1884 || 1885 || 1886 || 1887 || 1888 || 1889 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 1.3{{↑}} | 1.4{{↑}} | 1.6{{↑}} | 1.6{{↑}} | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Year || 1890 || 1891 || 1892 || 1893 || 1894 || 1895 || 1896 || 1897 || 1898 || 1899 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 2.9{{↑}} | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Year || 1900 || 1901 || 1902 || 1903 || 1904 || 1905 || 1906 || 1907 || 1908 || 1909 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 11.3{{↑}} | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Year || 1910 || 1911 || 1912 || 1913 || 1914 || 1915 || 1916 || 1917 || 1918 || 1919 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 16.3{{↑}} | na | na | 22.5{{↑}} | 24.0{{↑}} | 23.0{{↓}} | 24.5{{↑}} | 22.0{{↓}} | 6.3{{↓}} | 4.5{{↓}} |
| Year || 1920 || 1921 || 1922 || 1923 || 1924 || 1925 || 1926 || 1927 || 1928 || 1929 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 4.0{{↓}} | 4.0{{↓}} | 6.0{{↑}} | 7.0{{↑}} | 11.3{{↑}} | 11.3{{↑}} | 18.3{{↑}} | 22.0{{↑}} | 22.5{{↑}} | 25.0{{↑}} |
| Year || 1930 || 1931 || 1932 || 1933 || 1934 || 1935 || 1936 || 1937 || 1938 || 1939 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 33.0{{↑}} | 36.7{{↑}} | 41.2{{↑}} | 44.0{{↑}} | 53.0{{↑}} | 59.8{{↑}} | 67.0{{↑}} | 67.2{{↑}} | 69.3{{↑}} | 70.9{{↑}} |
| Year || 1940 || 1941 || 1942 || 1943 || 1944 || 1945 || 1946 || 1947 || 1948 || 1949 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 76.2{{↑}} | 57.2{{↓}} | 2.2{{↓}} | 2.6{{↑}} | 16.3{{↑}} | 30.3{{↑}} | 37.5{{↑}} | 45.0{{↑}} | 54.9{{↑}} | 65.0{{↑}} |
| Year || 1950 || 1951 || 1952 || 1953 || 1954 || 1955 || 1956 || 1957 || 1958 || 1959 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 78.0{{↑}} | 81.2{{↑}} | 88.8{{↑}} | 95.6{{↑}} | 104.6{{↑}} | 120.3{{↑}} | 132.6{{↑}} | 152.1{{↑}} | 164.2{{↑}} | 167.3{{↑}} |
| Year || 1960 || 1961 || 1962 || 1963 || 1964 || 1965 || 1966 || 1967 || 1968 || 1969 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 172.1{{↑}} | 171.4{{↓}} | 175.1{{↑}} | 179.7{{↑}} | 187.1{{↑}} | 194.3{{↑}} | 196.4{{↑}} | 199.0{{↑}} | 200.4{{↑}} | 204.4{{↑}} |
| Year || 1970 || 1971 || 1972|| 1973 || 1974 || 1975 || 1976 || 1977 || 1978 || 1979 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 207.1{{↑}} | 209.4{{↑}} | 211.2{{↑}} | 212.6{{↑}} | 213.7{{↑}} | 215.7{{↑}} | 218.2{{↑}} | 217.1{{↓}} | 210.9{{↓}} | 204.7{{↓}} |
| Year || 1980 || 1981 || 1982 || 1983 || 1984 || 1985 || 1986 || 1987 || 1988 || 1989 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 197.1{{↓}} | 191.1{{↓}} | 194.1{{↑}} | 190.9{{↓}} | 190.8{{↓}} | 189.0{{↓}} | 193.0{{↑}} | 192.0{{↓}} | 191.7{{↓}} | 180.2{{↓}} |
| Year || 1990 || 1991 || 1992 || 1993 || 1994 || 1995 || 1996 || 1997 || 1998 || 1999 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 164.8{{↓}} | 135.6{{↓}} | 133.6{{↓}} | 115.7{{↓}} | 94.4{{↓}} | 83.6{{↓}} | 74.8{{↓}} | 75.6{{↑}} | 76.2{{↑}} | 81.1{{↑}} |
| Year || 2000 || 2001 || 2002 || 2003 || 2004 || 2005 || 2006 || 2007 || 2008 || 2009 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 80.3{{↓}} | 83.4{{↑}} | 81.9{{↓}} | 79.3{{↓}} | 80.2{{↑}} | 78.0{{↓}} | 80.3{{↑}} | 75.5{{↓}} | 77.7{{↑}} | 72.2{{↓}} |
| Year || 2010 || 2011 || 2012 || 2013 || 2014* || 2015* || 2016* || 2017||2018 ||2019 | ||||||||||
| Coal (Mt) | 75.2{{↑}} | 81.9{{↑}} | 85.7{{↑}} | 83.7{{↓}} | 64.9{{↓}} | 39.7{{↓}} | 40.9{{↑}} | — | — | — |
n.b.: 2014, 2015, and 2016 do not include extraction in the territory occupied by the separatists.
In July 2014, several mines were closed in Eastern Ukraine because of fighting during the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine.[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/213108.html Four miners killed, 16 injured after artillery shell hits bus in Chervonopartyzansk - DTEK], Interfax-Ukraine (11 July 2014) The war in Donbass caused coal production in Ukraine to decrease by 22.4% of its 2013 value, to 64.976 million tonnes.[https://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/coal-output-in-ukraine-declines-224-in-2014-376952.html Coal output in Ukraine declines 22.4% in 2014], Kyiv Post (Jan. 8, 2015) As a result, Ukraine begun importing coal from South Africa and Russia.[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/economic/243387.html Ukraine pays for two more vessels carrying coal from South Africa – energy minister], Interfax-Ukraine (8 January 2015)
[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-31/ukraine-to-import-coal-from-far-away-as-war-curtails-mines.html Ukraine to Import Coal From ‘Far Away’ as War Curtails Mines], Bloomberg News (Dec 31, 2014)
[http://www.unian.info/politics/1108007-batch-of-south-african-coal-supplied-to-ukraine.html Batch of South African coal supplied to Ukraine], UNIAN (04.08.2015) A lack of coal for Ukraine's coal-fired power stations and a shutdown of one of the six reactors of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant lead to rolling power outages throughout the country throughout December 2014.[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-turns-off-reactor-at-nuclear-plant-after-accident-9947540.html Ukraine turns off reactor at its most powerful nuclear plant after 'accident'], The Independent (28 December 2014)
[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/world/europe/ukraine-briefly-cuts-power-to-crimea-amid-dispute-with-russia-over-nato.html?_r=0 Ukraine Briefly Cuts Power to Crimea Amid Feud With Russia Over NATO], The New York Times (DEC. 24, 2014)
[http://itar-tass.com/en/economy/770172 Coal import to help avoid rolling blackouts in Ukraine — energy minister], ITAR-TASS (December 31, 2014)
[http://mashable.com/2014/12/03/ukraine-nuclear-plant-accident/ Rolling blackouts in Ukraine after nuclear plant accident], br>Mashable (Dec 03, 2014)
[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-31/ukraine-to-import-coal-from-far-away-as-war-curtails-mines.html Ukraine to Import Coal From ‘Far Away’ as War Curtails Mines], Bloomberg News (Dec 31, 2014)
Consumption, import and export
{{Coal sidebar|state=collapsed}}
Coal consumption in 2012 grew to 61.207 million tonnes, up 6.2% compared with 2011.[http://www.interfax.co.uk/ukraine-news/ukraine-plans-to-reach-extraction-of-105-m-t-of-coal-a-year-says-president/ Ukraine plans to reach extraction of 105 m t of coal a year, says president], Interfax-Ukraine (30 August 2013) {{Cite web |url=https://interfax.com/ |title=Interfax |access-date=24 July 2020 |archive-date=4 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404110823/https://interfax.com/ |url-status=bot: unknown }} Most is used for public utilities and for power generation. However local coal only provides 50% of the country’s electricity needs, therefore requiring Ukraine to import from Russia and Poland.
As of 2013, the Ukrainian government plans to completely replace the natural gas used in the steel industry and some other economic sectors with coal.
Coal powered 38% of Ukrainian electrical generation in 2014.{{cite news |url=https://www.unian.info/economics/1781662-poroshenko-share-of-nuclear-power-grows-to-60-amid-blockade-of-trade-with-donbas.html |title=Poroshenko: Share of nuclear power grows to 60% amid blockade of trade with Donbas |newspaper=UNIAN |date=16 February 2017 |accessdate=21 February 2017}} The relative cost of domestic coal versus imported coal, nuclear and gas, made it unworkable. In 2016, the nation imported 15.648 million tonnes of coal and anthracite worth of $1.467 billion.[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/economic/395223.html Ukraine imports 15.6 mln tonnes of coal for $1.5 bln in 2016], Interfax-Ukraine (6 January 2017) In the year before the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War, 2013, Ukraine exported 500 thousand tonnes and imported 25 million tonnes.{{in lang|ru}} [http://economics.unian.net/industry/884527-dobyicha-koksuyuschihsya-ugley-v-ukraine-snizilas-do-minimuma-za-vremya-nezavisimosti.html Production of coking coal in Ukraine fell to the lowest since independence], UNIAN (14 February 2014) In 2016, Ukraine exported 520,585 tonnes of coal and anthracite worth of $44.762 million.
In 2019, Ukraine produced the highest amount of PM10 particulates and sulfur dioxide air pollution emissions in Europe from coal fired electricity generation. None of Ukraine's power plants have desulfurization equipment other than a small trial plant on unit 2 of Trypilska thermal power plant.{{cite web |url=https://ember-climate.org/insights/research/coal-power-air-pollution/ |title=Coal power air pollution in Europe |last=Alparslan |first=Ufuk |website=Ember |date=25 May 2021 |access-date=30 July 2022}}
In June 2020, the Government of Ukraine prioritized the usage of coal at Ukrainian power stations to reduce the import of natural gas used at the power stations for electricity production.{{Cite web|last=Олександра|first=Автор: Панченко|date=25 June 2020|title=Кабмін зробив вугілля основним паливом для українських ТЕЦ|url=https://hmarochos.kiev.ua/2020/06/25/kabmin-zrobyv-vugillya-osnovnym-palyvom-dlya-ukrayinskyh-tets/|access-date=27 June 2020|website=Хмарочос|language=uk}}{{Cite web|date=23 June 2020|title=Кабмін надав ТЕС на вугіллі пріоритетну диспетчеризацію|url=https://ua-news.liga.net/economics/news/kabmin-nadav-tes-na-vugilli-prioritetnu-dispetcherizatsiyu|access-date=27 June 2020|website=LIGA}}
Mine safety
{{see also|2008 Ukraine coal mine collapse}}
Mine safety is the result of geology and human factors. The geology of Ukrainian coal mines is not favorable: seam thickness is small, seams are deep, and methane is common. The coal mines of Donbas are one of the most hazardous in the world due to enormous working depths (down from 300 to 1200 m) as a result of natural depletion, as well as due to high levels of methane explosion, coal dust explosion and rock burst dangers. As the Economic Review points out, "Since 1991, up to 300 [miners] have died at work every year".Grumau, S. (2002). Coal mining in Ukraine. Economic Review.44.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14337475 Ukraine mine blast leaves 16 dead], BBC News (29 July 2011)
Low profitability of Ukrainian mines has not attracted capital investment. As a result, the machinery and the processes used to dig coal are twenty years old. These methods are less safe on a per-miner basis and require more miners.
File:Zasyadko.jpg of the Zasiadko coal mine]]
The Zasiadko mine stands as an example of Donbass mine safety. It was opened in 1958 and privatized in 1992, since which time it has had seven major accidents, including the 2007 Zasiadko mine disaster (101 workers killed){{cite news|title=The miner, hospitalized after the accident at the mine Zasyadko, died|url=http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/events/218809-skonchalsya-gornyak-gospitalizirovannyj-posle-avarii-na-shahte-zasyadko|accessdate=14 October 2017|publisher=Korrespondent|date=30 November 2007|language=uk}} and the 2015 Zasiadko mine disaster (17 killed).[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31725243 Ukraine gas blast: 30 feared dead in Zasyadko coal mine] BBC News
Corruption and illegal mining
Ukrainian mines are sometimes run by mafia-like organizations. Often, these organizations derive large incomes from the mines that belong to the government. As a result, underfinancing causes many employees to have to wait to receive their monthly salary for weeks or even months. Additionally, a lack of financing influences the condition of many coal mines. Old mines don’t receive the necessary financial aid, therefore they are not being renovated or remodeled annually. All these problems together with other challenges have resulted in "gradually declining production capacity and a loss of global market share".A short history of factors in the Ukraine. Coal International. (2010){{vs|date=May 2021}}
In the Donets Basin there are many extremely dangerous illegal mines.[http://www.kyivpost.com/news/business/bus_general/detail/108242/ Illegal mines profitable, but at massive cost to nation], Kyiv Post (8 July 2011)
See also
{{Portal|Ukraine|Energy}}
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book |last1=Belge |first1=Boris |editor1-last=Férez Gil |editor1-first=Manuel |editor2-last=Palko |editor2-first=Olena |title=Ukraine's Many Faces: Land, People, and Culture Revisited |date=2023 |isbn=978-38394-6-664-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2tDJEAAAQBAJ |ref=none |chapter=Grain, Coal and Gas: Ukraine's Economy since the Eighteenth Century|publisher=transcript Verlag }}
- {{cite journal |last1=Hayko |first1=G.I. |last2=Biletskyy |first2=Volodymyr S. |title=Нарис історії гірництва в Україні |journal=Journal of the Scientific Society Named After Shevchenko |date=2021 |url=http://ntsh.org/node/1064 |ref=none |trans-title=Essay on the history of mining in Ukraine |publisher=Publishing House "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" |location=Kyiv |language=uk |format=|isbn=978-966-518-805-6}}
External links
{{commons}}
- [https://euracoal.eu/info/country-profiles/ukraine-8/ Ukraine] from Eurocoal (EU)
- [https://www.erih.net/how-it-started/industrial-history-of-european-countries/ukraine On the Industrial History of Ukraine] from the European Route of Industrial Heritage
- [https://uwecworkgroup.info/unregulated-coal-mining-destroys-donbas-nature/ Unregulated coal mining destroys Donbas nature] from the Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Working Group
{{Navboxes
|title=Articles and topics related to Coal in Ukraine
|state=collapsed
|list1=
{{Europe topic|Coal in}}
{{Resources in Ukraine}}
{{Harvesting and resource extraction in Ukraine}}
}}