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How should the coal industry respond to a changing market? This was the central question speakers and delegates addressed at the Russian & CIS Coal Summit in May. Over 100 key coal industry stakeholders and government representatives attended the gathering in Moscow to analyse global supply & demand trends, the interplay of consumption, exports and heavy industries, and offer an insight into the Russian coal industry’s key strengths and weaknesses.
The two day summit was joined by speakers from Russia and around the world to deliver a global perspective on the Russian coal market. One of the conference highlights was the presentation by Phil Ren, Vice President of Tader Coal SCM Co. Ltd. & Chairman of China Coal Importers Association who gave a talk on China’s coal supply & demand trends. Phil looked at the major influencers impacting the market and explained how global pricing trends affect import demand to China.
Delegates also had an opportunity to project updates from the following Russian Coal industry leaders:
Andrey Churin, CEO, MC Kolmar
Alexander Kulik, Head of Sales, Siberian Anthracite
Sergey Stepanov, EVRAZ
Kirill Kozenyashev, Director of Strategy, Severstal Resources
The full day pre-Summit conference Coal Transport & Logistics, looked into the main challenges and bottle necks for rail transport and infrastructure. This included a half day workshop facilitated by Dr Gaurav Singh, Research Stream Leader, CSIRO Digital Productivity and Services Flagship, Australia.
Part one of the workshop included an international case study focussing on optimising the Hunter Valley Coal Chain. The Hunter Valley Coal Chain, considered the world’s largest and most complex coal operation, and is responsible for some A$15 billion in annual export revenue. It is the largest coal export operation in the world with total export of more than 90 million tonnes of coal in 2008. The Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator (HVCCC) is an independent body responsible for transporting coal from more than 35 Hunter Valley (NSW) mines to port and onto ships for export.
CSIRO’s contribution to innovative optimisation modelling has helped identify the capacity requirements, and most cost effective capacity improvement initiatives to meet the demand while minimising the total cost of infrastructure and demurrage.
Part two looked at analytical methods for solving challenges in the mineral supply chains, including:
- How to account for port and rail constraints in order to create realistic plans?
- How to ensure an effective and integrated supply chain to increase efficiency and profit margins?
- How to eliminate waste in the supply chains by aligning production with transportation?
- How to include blending requirements in transportation to maximise the throughput?
- How to get most of the existing infrastructure by aligning maintenance requirements?
