Against the backdrop of the overall crisis, it became known the day before about a sharp decline in production indicators.
Almost three-quarters of Russian coal enterprises are operating at a loss. This data was provided by Acting Director of the Coal Industry Department of the Ministry of Energy Dmitry Lopatkin at a State Council meeting on energy. According to him, 74% of companies in the industry are currently unprofitable, and 23 enterprises have already ceased operations.
Lopatkin specified that, according to Rosstat, the total losses of the sector reached 263 billion rubles, and by the end of the year, this figure is expected to rise to 350 billion. "Coal production has been declining for the third consecutive year — from 443.6 million tons in 2022 to 438.6 million tons in 2024, which means a decrease of about 5 million tons," he said (quote from TASS).
Earlier, Deputy Minister of Energy Dmitry Islamov stated that in 2024, the sector also ended the year with losses — 112 billion rubles with accounts payable of 1.2 trillion and a share of unprofitable enterprises at 53%. In October, the Ministry of Energy projected further growth in debt burden — up to 1.5 trillion rubles by the end of 2025.
Against the backdrop of the overall crisis, it became known the day before about a sharp decline in production indicators of the Mechel holding. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, the company reduced coal production by 55% year-on-year — to 1.28 million tons. Over nine months, the decline in production amounted to 38%, reaching the lowest levels in the last 10 years. Mechel's net loss in the first half of the year increased 2.4 times, reaching 40.5 billion rubles — the highest figure since 2015.
To support the industry, the Russian government approved a package of measures on May 30, including a deferral of mineral extraction tax and insurance contributions until December 1, targeted subsidies to compensate for logistics costs when exporting coal, as well as the possibility of restructuring credit debt.
According to the National Coal Association, the crisis worsened after Vladimir Putin began the war in Ukraine in 2022, when Russia lost part of its traditional export markets, including the European Union, and global coal prices fell significantly. If in 2022 the cost of an exported ton of thermal coal was $148–192 depending on the port, by the end of 2024 it had dropped to $72–106.
