Digitalization in Kuzbassrazrezugol

2024: Kuzbassrazrezugol estimated the economic effect of digitalization of production at 3.6 billion rubles

The economic effect of digitalization of the production of Kuzbassrazrezugol, one of the oldest and largest coal producers in Russia, amounted to about 3.6 billion rubles. This is stated in the report on the sustainable development of Kuzbassrazrezugol for 2024, published at the end of September, which TAdviser got acquainted with.

Due to which technologies this effect was obtained, and how it was calculated, the report does not explain. Be that as it may, it came in very handy against the background of the fact that in 2024 Kuzbassrazrezugol's financial indicators decreased: net profit under RAS amounted to 12.5 billion rubles, having decreased by 6.3 times compared to 2023, and revenue - by 35%, to 196.54 billion rubles. At the end of 2025, it is also hardly worth waiting for a rosy result. Thus, analysts of the consulting company NEFT Research predict that the revenue of the entire Russian coal industry amid lower export prices and rising logistics costs will fall by 12% compared to last year^[1]

As for digitalization, the report on the sustainable development of Kuzbassrazrezugol states that digital technologies are integrated into all key processes of the company. Innovative solutions allow you to optimize production operations, increase the level of industrial safety and create a single digital environment for ensuring the transparency of management analytics. In total, Kuzbassrazrezugol implements and develops more than 300 digital projects: introduces and solutions presented on the market, and creates its own.

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Фото: Kuzbassrazrezugol Sustainability Report 2024

One of the directions is the digitalization of mining. Digital counterparts of coal sections are created here based on geological 3D models of deposits. They integrate geological exploration data, which makes it possible to plan production processes in detail, optimize mining operations and visualize the geological structure of coal occurrence. 3D models contain reliable information on the volume and quality of coal at all stages of field development. At the time of preparing the sustainability report, 9 models of coal deposits were created and two more digital twins are planned for 2025.

As part of the digitalization of mining, an automated control system for the FORK mining and transport complex (ACS of the FORK SCC) is also being implemented. The project is aimed at automating the operational control and management of mining transport equipment to improve the efficiency and safety of mining operations. The system has already been implemented in all coal mines of the company. More than 1.2 thousand units of equipment were equipped, 137 employees were trained.

Among the key projects are digital maintenance and repair of mining and transport equipment (MR). The digital solution, according to the company, allows you to minimize emergency downtime, optimize repair costs, and provide transparent accounting of costs, including labor and the use of spare parts. Through a specialized mobile solution, employees can diagnose quarry equipment and equipment, record the results of inspections and perform operations according to production tasks.

And integration with the 1C platform provides end-to-end management of all maintenance and repair processes: from the formation of a repair fund and automatic work planning to monitoring the condition of equipment and analyzing the causes of downtime.

The introduction of an enterprise resource management system based on 1C:ERP.UKh is one of the key initiatives to digitalize business processes in Kuzbassrazrezugol. It is aimed at creating a unified environment for taking into account all the company's resources and making effective management decisions by building the integrity of the operational and financial contours.

By the time of the start of the project, Kuzbassrazrezugol used various automated solutions covering individual business functions, including 1C. So, for example, regulated accounting was kept in the 1C: Holding Management system, and warehouse accounting was used by 1C, while branch warehouses kept warehouse accounting in a historical system of their own design.

Actually, the system of its own development was used in Kuzbassrazrezugol for about 20 years, working on import DBMS. It was integrated with 1C: Holding Management and consisted of separate subsystems. Support for such a system was extremely difficult in terms of developing functionality, taking into account the growing needs^[2]."

At the time of the preparation of the report, the project launched key modules of the new ERP system: regulated accounting, treasury, budget control, sales and supply management, production accounting and controlling. And for 2025, work is planned to expand the functionality of the system: modules for investment management and budget planning will be added, providing full-fledged functionality of corporate resource management.

The 1C: Mining system is also implemented on the basis of 1C:ERP.UKh, which provides automated control of coal production: from mining planning to shipment of finished products. In real time, the movement of equipment, production volumes are monitored and the cost of coal mined by plot is calculated.

For example, Kuzbassrazrezugol is introducing solutions in the field of digitalization of coal mining, where one of the most important projects is the system for managing the production processes of processing plants (MES), and in the field of industrial safety. The latter includes, among other things, equipping the excavator fleet with all-round viewing systems and intelligent video surveillance.

Drilling and blasting operations play a key role in the mining industry, determining the effectiveness of stripping operations, the quality of crushing of the rock mass and the economics of subsequent technological processes, says Kuzbassrazrezugol Management Company. The improvement of drilling technologies and the introduction of digital solutions make it possible to increase the accuracy and minimize the negative impact on the environment, which makes the modernization of TRU one of the priority areas for the development of the industry.

As of 2025, Kuzbassrazrezugol, together with St. Petersburg Mining University, is working on the creation of the first automated TRU digital control system in Russia. It includes specialized modules for the technologist, surveyor and fuse, combining profile data in one information space, and allows you to increase the accuracy of explosion design and ensure the safety of TRU.

{{# ITProj: Kuzbassrazrezugol}}

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