About 230 mines are still extracting coal. It is not yet clear how many mines will be closed in the future, because no concrete plans have been confirmed. Worker layoffs are even more dramatic in their numbers. In 1993, there were 841,000 people employed in the industry. By 1999, this figure was down to 366,000 and is set to decrease even more in the coming years.
Fewer mines means fewer workers.
It also means less coal. This became a point of contention in 1996, when Yury Malyshev, head of the state coal enterprise Rosugol, did not agree with World Bank suggestions to trim annual output by about 100 million metric tons. He and other industry officials blamed the World Bank for the fall in coal output. But Trifonova of Reformugol said he doubts the sector s trauma could have been avoided. That s clear to everyone now.