OREANDA-NEWS. November 11, 2010. The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine will seek permissions for privatization of a number of state-owned mines, the Ministry representative announced Nov 10. Those will include Rovenkyanthracite and Sverdlovanthracite. The respective draft bill is being prepared to that effect.

Millennium Capital sees the news as undoubtedly POSITIVE for the Companies and for the sector as a whole, since the current management by the State as the owner is utterly ineffective. Among the main problems are low tariffs for steam coal with minimal investment component, bloated costs and pervasive subsidizing of ineffective mines that produce huge losses every year. The principal contender to purchase the Companies is DTEK, which has recently claimed it stood ready to invest UAH 600mn in both the Companies. Rovenkyanthracite and Sverdlovanthracite produce anthracite high-calorie coal and are among the major steam coal producers in Ukraine.