THE UNDYING MINE: ON THE RESTORATION OF THE MINE IN ZHDANOVKA DESTROYED BY THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES Article
Article published in September 2014
Since November 1, 2014, after three months of inactivity, the Kommunarskaya Mine No. 22 hopes to resume coal extraction. The miners’ optimism is striking, as the mine is currently almost completely flooded, part of the buildings has been destroyed by shells or fire, and much of the equipment has either been destroyed or stolen. This is the state the Zhdanovka mine was left in over the course of just two months after fighting began in the city, and the area of Kommunarskaya was occupied by the Ukrainian army, which set up a military base there. By the way, a burial site of civilians killed during the fighting in Zhdanovka was recently discovered on the mine's territory...
The chronology of the gradual decline of the mine is remembered by its management down to the exact day. As if reading excerpts from the records, the deputy head of the mine, Alexander Petrovich Kovshevny, spoke about the difficult times of the coal enterprise."On August 16, the Ukrainian army entered the mine’s territory. And the fighting began. Military equipment was stationed here, they shot from here, and the DPR responded by firing back. They made the mine's territory their base; they stayed here, took shower, and so on," Alexander Petrovich said.
At the same time, coal mining operations had ceased here on August 1. "There were several reasons for this," explained Alexander Petrovich. "First, we stopped receiving explosives because there were difficulties transporting explosives across the borders of Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Initially, we brought them from the Donetsk Chemical Products Plant (DKZHI). There were explosions and so on, and the plant ceased operations. Then we tried to bring them from Lugansk, but encountered the same problems. We also tried to transport them from Krasny Luch, but that didn’t work either. In general, the supply of wood, explosives, and other materials became difficult starting August 1."Although coal mining had stopped, the miners didn’t abandon the mine. Until August 17, they were pumping out water from the mine, trying to maintain its operability.As mentioned earlier, the territory of the mine was occupied by Ukrainian soldiers. Around the same time, the main cable of the mine was cut due to the fighting: "The mine was left without power, and the main ventilation fans were shut off," Alexander Petrovich continued his account of the recent history of the enterprise. A few days after that, from August 20 to 24, taking advantage of lulls in the fighting, the miners returned and tried to pump out the water. "But from August 24, when we left, and until September 20, there wasn’t a single person at the mine. First, we had nothing to do here — it was all destroyed, disconnected, and the mine started to flood... Second, we weren't even allowed in," Alexander Kovshevny shrugged.
A month later, on September 20, the miners were able to return to the enterprise. They were met with a bleak sight: what the war hadn’t destroyed had been looted by marauders."We have two industrial sites, one here and the other near Zuyevka. The plant here burned down, and the one there burned down as well, so restoration is needed everywhere. Some of the cables on the surface were severed," the deputy head of the mine listed the damages. "There was looting here. Copper cables disappeared, wheeled equipment (tractors, KrAZ trucks, bulldozers, a bus was destroyed), welding machines were opened, all the copper was removed, all the safes were broken into. For example, in my office," Alexander Petrovich pointed to the corner where an open iron safe stood.“As if in a hurry, computers, televisions, and other office equipment were ripped from their cables and taken to an unknown location. In addition to valuable items, they also took necessary things, such as tools from the "kaibashes" (storerooms—editor's note) — jackhammers, screwdrivers, and more. Moreover, the locks were broken roughly, often with the help of automatic rifles,” as noted by Alexander Kovshevny.
"I have a strong suspicion that, in order to cover up the looting, the building of the administrative and household complex (ABC) was set on fire on the last day, September 19," he added, lowering his voice. It’s worth noting that just before the fighting began, at the end of July, this building had undergone major repairs. Today, nothing remains of it: the new wallpaper was burned, the insulation under the roof melted, windows were shattered, the roof was destroyed, and the new furniture was ruined. Charred wooden frames and iron coat hangers are all that remains of the fire.
"The mine is flooded now. That’s the most unpleasant thing at the moment," Alexander Kovshevny summed up. But then his eyes lit up: "But we are miners! We’re starting everything over. The fan is working, and the drainage systems on the 10th and 11th horizons are functioning."The management, together with the workers, approached the mine’s restoration with full seriousness. A project for the repair of damaged structures and equipment has already been developed, and each task is assigned people, materials, and deadlines. The work schedule takes up half a wall in Alexander Petrovich's office. It has already been determined that the Kommunarskaya mine will be restored gradually, in two main stages: by November 1, sections No. 5 and No. 6 should be operational (one located in the industrial site in Zhdanovka, the other in Zuyevka). "We plan to start extracting 2,000 tons of coal per day," the managers note. By December 20, the other two sections of the Kommunarskaya mine are to be restored, after which the miners hope to return to previous production levels.
"The restoration is currently being funded with the mine's own resources," Kovshevny noted, adding that no subsidies are expected for now. "But we need help. We need at least 100 million for the restoration. Let me explain why we need the money: everything that was flooded needs to be repaired or replaced with new equipment. About 50% of the assets need to be restored because everything is submerged, everything is underwater."Currently, about two hundred people are working daily at Kommunarskaya Mine No. 22. Minimal working conditions have already been created for the employees — such as the boiler room being connected and the bathhouse being restored. The management is trying to pay the workers’ salaries as much as possible: "For now, we are paying the base rate. The salary is around 4,000 gryvnias, but we can’t pay more at the moment." It’s important to note that the current payments are about half of the miners’ previous wages."The mood in the team is upbeat," says Alexander Petrovich with a smile. "All our guys want to return and start working. We communicate constantly; even during the military actions, we were ‘within arm's reach.’ As soon as everything was over, we called everyone, and people came to work."
MK ProfileKommunarskaya Mine No. 22 is part of the Donbass Mining and Processing Plant (PAO Sh/U Donbass). Prior to the described events, the mine extracted 90-100 thousand tons of coal per month, with a daily output of 4,000 tons. The coal extracted from the Kommunarskaya mine is highly marketable, classified as grade "T" (used for electricity generation), with an ash content of 27-28%, indicating its high quality. The mine’s product was sent to enrichment plants and thermal power stations in Donetsk region.
ON THE MASS GRAVE OF CIVILIANS IN ZHDANOVKA Mass graves were discovered by the militia near Donetsk. The horrific discovery was made near the village of Kommunar on the territory of Kommunarskaya Mine No. 22. However, the Ukrainian National Guard denies any involvement in the graves near Donetsk. RIA NewsKommunarskaya "Next to the graves, we found National Guard rations. We only cleared this place two days ago," "This information is not true, as no National Guard units were based in or near the indicated area," Source: “Delovoy Peterburg”, September 24, 2014