OREANDA-NEWS. March 2, 2009. DTEK, the fuel and energy industry leader in Ukraine, announced today that the company has placed a further order with the Czech mining machinery manufacturer Ostroj for equipment worth approximately EUR20 million.

The contract for two Ostroj-70/125 roof support sets for Pavlogradskaya and Ternovskaya mines operated by Pavlogradugol, the country’s largest coal miner, is the latest phase in the company’s mining equipment upgrade programme.

Similar equipment is already in operation at Pavlogradugol’s Dneprovskaya and Stepnaya mines. In January 2009, a EUR15m plus contract to buy 07/16 Ostroj roof supports for Komsomolets Donbassa was also signed. Pavlogradugol plans to commission the new sets in October 2009.

An Ostroj set of roof supports ensures effective coal extraction in seams with an extracted height of 1.1 metres. This equipment can be in service for up to 10 years before a major overhaul is needed, which is much longer than other equipment used by Ukrainian mining companies. Installation will help boost output per face to 2,000 tons per day, reduce the ash content of produced coal, and increase the service life of equipment.

To execute its investment programme, DTEK is using project financing: funds for the implementation of its modernization programmes are raised with leading national and foreign banks, allowing the company to maintain its own resources. DTEK’s financial partner in this project is the Ceska Sporitelna, a.s. bank, which granted the company a five-year loan at a rate of Euribor +1.7%.