Don't like it again: the falling dollar exchange rate hit miners
The Central Bank's actions, which lowered the dollar exchange rate to 79,7 rubles, upset the Prime Minister. Kemerovo Region Andrey Panov: he compared strengthening the ruble with the "finishing off of the coal industry, which is already in dire straits."
“Coal mining companies and coal regions have long exhausted their reserves,” noted Panov. — A number of companies have already suspended operations, excessive optimization is underway, some people are being laid off, others are being transferred to related production facilities or laid off. A progressive crisis is evident."
The situation is complicated by problems obtaining loans: banks have stopped lending to coal companies, and high interest rates on loans are a direct path to bankruptcy.
Panov is confident that without federal subsidies, the region will experience mass bankruptcies and wage arrears.
Kuzbass is one of the largest coal regions in Russia. It is home to 151 coal mining and processing enterprises, including 39 mines and 55 open-pit mines. In total, this sector employs nearly 100 people.
On the eve, the governor of the Kemerovo region Ilya Seredyuk saidthat coal production volumes in the region are rapidly declining, and all coal companies in the region are already operating below profitability.
Let us recall that in October of last year, workers at the Kemerovo mine “Inskaya”, who had not received their wages for four months, announced hunger strike.
In December, three enterprises were forced to close suspend coal mining due to mounting losses.
In winter, residents of several settlements, including the regional center, were freezing in homes because the boilers ran out of graded (enriched) coal. Authorities called the situation critical.
In April, officials сообщили, that due to reduced tax revenues, it was necessary to abandon the construction of a bridge that the residents of Kemerovo needed.
Currently, according to the Central Bank, the share of unprofitable coal enterprises in Kuzbass reached 57%.
