A new chemical laboratory has made it possible for Sibanthracite to eliminate the need for third-party services when conducting coal sample analyses. From now on, the company’s Kemerovo Region enterprises – Kuznetsky Yuzhny Open Pit Mine and Verkhneteshsky Open Pit Mine – will receive quality certificates issued by their own in-house laboratory. The facility is fitted out with state-of-the-art equipment that meets all national and international standards, and its location near the open-pit mining site will significantly reduce the time required for sample transport and analysis.

The 80-square-meter laboratory is located in a standalone building within the site’s modular camp. It is equipped with muffle furnaces, finger grinders, MA-35 moisture analyzers, an infrared sulfur analyzer (5E-IRS II), and a bomb combustion calorimeter (ABK-1V). Modern equipment combined with the staff’s extensive experience allows for precise and objective measurements of coal quality parameters.

The new material and technical base makes it possible to double the number of samples analyzed – up to 80 per day. Quality control is carried out at every stage, from extraction to shipment. The analyses determine total moisture content, ash content, volatile matter yield, sulfur content, and calorific value.

The new chemical laboratory officially began operations after being certified by the Kuzbass Center for Standardization, Metrology, and Certification. Consequently, Sibanthracite Group now operates five laboratory complexes that determine coal quality characteristics at its enterprises in the Kemerovo and Novosibirsk Regions.