Siberian Coal Energy Company

SUEK was based on the idea to consolidate disparate coal enterprises throughout Russian regions into an industrial holding in the early 2000s.

The assets that formed SUEK were distressed – the production capacity was less than 30 million tons per year, the enterprises employed 70,000 miners yet productivity was low, and virtually none of its output was exported. Amid the collapse of mining businesses and widespread miners strikes due to unpaid wages and poor working conditions, the average equipment depreciation was 90%.

During the early years of the business, SUEK’s assets were renovated and debts were repaid. The old mines and worn-out equipment were transformed into modern enterprises, several enrichment factories and modules were put into operation, incorporating the processing technologies that allowed SUEK to produce highly enriched coal with low impurity levels.

SUEK built coal bulk terminals and seaports, and built a coal mine methane processing station to generate power within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol. According to the Financial Times, it has invested in high-capacity washing plants and has ash control technologies at all its coal ports. The first smart mining management control center was built to run all SUEK’s operations, monitoring the location and well-being of miners working underground.

After the consolidation of electric power assets, the Siberian Generating Company (SGC) was created as a part of SUEK, and spun out as a separate company. In 2018, SUEK took over SGC.

In the last 15 years, SUEK has invested US$10 billion in coal production and power generation.

SUEK's assets produce nearly 110 million tons of coal annually and the company employs over 70,000 people.

SUEK operates 28 open-pit and underground mines and 27 power plants in Siberia and in the Russian Far East. SUEK's assets produce over 100 million tons of coal annually, with assured coal reserves of 7.6 billion tons. Its coal, power generation and logistics enterprises in 14 Russian regions employ over 70,000 people.

SUEK produces high-calorific coal with low sulphur and nitrogen content. According to The Financial Times, SUEK is Russia's largest producer of higher-quality thermal coal. SUEK uses automation and digitalization in coal mining across its 26 mines in Kemerovo and elsewhere in Siberia. In some mining operations, workers are replaced with machines. SUEK also piloted Russia’s first fully automated longwall in Polysaevo."

SUEK supplies high-calorific value coal to 48 countries on 5 continents through its own sales and distribution network, including the Asia Pacific where coal plays a key role in energy access. In 2020, sales of SUEK comprised 67% of the total export coal sales to Asia-Pacific market. In 2022, the company's revenue amounted to 83 billion rubles.