The share of loss-making coal mining enterprises in Kuzbass in February 2025 increased to 57% compared to 45% y-o-y. Therefore, in 2025 the negative trend intensified due to plunging global market prices, a sharp increase in production costs, as well as the strengthening of the ruble against the US dollar. Some companies are forced to cut production and abandon projects to develop new coal deposits.
Additional factors that continue to adversely affect coal miners’ financial performance include high railroad tariffs, which reach 50% of the total cost, limited transportation capacity of railroad infrastructure, and Western sanctions.
According to some forecasts, the total losses of the coal industry in 2025 may amount to more than 3.1 billion USD, jumping 2-fold from 1.4 billion USD of losses in 2024. Currently, 29 companies, that produced 40 mio t, have already gone bankrupt. According to the Ministry of Economic Development, companies producing 160 mio t and having losses higher than the industry average are in the red zone.
Furthermore, US sanctions already cover more than 50% of the export volume, that will lead to even greater reduction in Russian coal exports in 2025.
Coal extraction in Kuzbass, the main coal mining region of Russia, where high-quality material is produced, fell to 51.0 mio t in January-March 2025 (-1.9 mio t or -3.6% y-o-y).
Source: CCA Analysis
