en.Wedoany.com Reported - The 2026 "New Era - New Heroes" Forum was held in Russia, bringing together representatives from all sectors of the mining industry to discuss priorities for the development of the Siberian mining industry, national technological sovereignty, and the training of professional personnel. The tools showcased at the forum primarily focused on optimizing business processes and improving enterprise economic efficiency, rather than traditional production equipment.
Svetlana Timchenko, General Director of the forum organizer, the Marketing Agency from Timchenko (Агентство «Маркетинг от Тимченко»), noted that the 2026 forum plan is based on the actual needs of mining enterprises, with the core focus on establishing collaboration and jointly developing solutions to address the economic crisis.
Andrey Brizhak (Андрей Брижак), Minister of the Coal Industry of Kuzbass, stated at the opening ceremony that the local coal industry is facing pressure from drastic changes in export logistics, insufficient capacity of the Eastern Railway Mainline (Восточный полигон), sanctions, and high debt burdens. Deferrals of federal taxes and insurance premiums have already helped 95 enterprises, but long-term strategies must focus on the development of the Eastern Railway Mainline, deep processing of coal, and the promotion of domestically produced equipment.
Vasily Rakitin (Василий Ракитин), Executive Director of the Non-Profit Partnership "Mining Industrialists of Russia" (НП «Горнопромышленники России»), believes that the mining industry remains the foundation of the national economy, but competitiveness is no longer determined by production volume. Instead, it depends on the ability to adopt modern technologies, improve efficiency, and enhance safety, requiring a complete ecosystem of domestic solutions. The expert community can serve as an independent platform to evaluate equipment using unified methods, assist in supplier selection, and promote best practices.
To address technical challenges in the coal industry, such as losses from coal slime flotation, degradation of coking coal during storage, and spontaneous combustion of thermal coal, Russian manufacturer Flotent Chemicals Rus has proposed systematic solutions. The company offers a complete range of reagents, including collectors, frothers, depressants, and flocculants, as well as next-generation products such as hydroxamates, cyanide-free depressants, and synthetic cyanide-free flocculant AF. Its product portfolio includes integrated flotation reagent systems that can increase recovery rates to over 95%, as well as anti-oxidation and anti-static coal protection reagents, dust suppression and anti-freeze reagents, among others. Igor Tanasenko (Игорь Танасенко), the company's Director of Development and Science, stated that Flotent Chemicals Rus holds approximately 70% of the Russian flotation reagent market. The main achievement this year was the creation of a series of 20 hydroxamate brands for different types of ores.
The forum also discussed the topic of technological sovereignty. Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Andrey Eremenko (Андрей Еременко), presented technical solutions for developing deposits prone to rock bursts, including special blasting techniques that reduce cutting work by 1.25 times, drilling by 1.3 times, and explosive consumption by 1.2 times, while using the GITS microseismic monitoring system to identify hazardous zones and drill pressure relief holes.
SUEK-Kuzbass (АО «СУЭК-Кузбасс») shared its experience in import substitution. Vadim Kravets (Вадим Кравец), Deputy Chief Power Engineer of the company, stated that the company has established its own service capabilities, mastered reverse engineering of imported parts, and has collaborated with local factories to produce equipment such as surface rack-and-pinion tracks, magnetic separators, and underground modular transport vehicles.
Denis Lebedev (Денис Лебедев), Head of the Mining Department at Russian Business Auto (РусбизнесАвто), pointed out that in mining equipment operations, improper fleet selection can lead to a potential 30% increase in operating costs, and the difference in operating costs between open-pit mines with similar geological conditions can reach 10%. Over the equipment's service life, losses could accumulate to between 50 million and 200 million rubles. The company proposed a comprehensive approach incorporating modern LGMG equipment, its own digital solution FLEET SMART MANAGEMENT, and a complete service ecosystem. The ISTK Group (Группа компаний «ИСТК») introduced its full lifecycle service system for equipment, including 40 service centers and 300 service vehicles. Representatives from the specialized tool distributor, Trading House "PRIDE" (Торговый дом «ПРАЙД»), presented a comprehensive approach involving site inspections, task research, and testing.
Personnel training was another key topic at the forum. Marina Bulaevskaya (Марина Булаевская), Director of Personnel and Social Affairs at PJSC Koks (ПАО «Кокс»), stated that the company annually hosts over 280 interns from institutions such as Kuzbass State Technical University and Kemerovo State University. Five hundred employees are graduates of Kuzbass State Technical University, with a newcomer retention rate of 77%. Currently, there are 450 specialists under the age of 35. SUEK-Kuzbass has established a continuous education system, launching 9 targeted vocational classes. After the first cohort graduated in 2024, 85% of students entered specialized technical schools. Siberian State Industrial University (СибГИУ) has trained over 10,000 mining engineers over 74 years and showcased a "virtual mine" laboratory using 3D design and VR headsets, with a graduate employment rate of 92%. The National University of Science and Technology MISIS (НИТУ МИСИС) presented its transition to a new model of higher education.
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