Last year Kazakhstan produced 112.7m tons of coal, 1.1% less than in 2022. The country’s energy-generating facilities used 65.9m tons and 31.9m tons were sent for export, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Kazakhstan ranks among the world’s ten leading countries in terms of coal reserves, with 49 deposits containing 33.6bn tons of coal.
Today the coal industry provides fuel for about 70% of Kazakhstan’s electricity generation. About 30 companies are currently engaged in coal mining in the country, providing jobs for almost 32,000 people.
Large coal deposits are located mainly in Central Kazakhstan (Karaganda coal basin, Shubarkol deposit, Turgai brown coal basin) and the northeastern region (Ekibastuz and Maikuben coal basins and Karazhyra deposit).
The Ministry of Industry and Construction earlier announced Kazakhstan’s plan to increase the production of coal in the period 2023-2029. The National Bureau of Statistics reported that exports of hard coal and lignite have increased 6.5-fold, mainly due to the growing demand for Kazakh coal from the countries of the European Union, which has placed an embargo on Russian coal exports to European countries since August 2022.
