Kemerovo Region
The Kemerovo Region is located at the crossroads of the West Siberian Plain and the mountains in southern Siberia. Its current borders were established on January 26, 1943. The region has an area of 95,500 square kilometers, accounting for 4% of the territory of western Siberia and a little over half a percent of Russia as a whole. Most of the territory is taken up by the Kuznetsk Coal Basin, whose vast coal reserves explain the region's second name, Kuzbass.
With a population density of 30 people per sq km, the region is one of the most populated in the Trans-Urals, with 85% of the population living in urban areas. There are seven cities with a population over 100,000 (Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Prokopyevsk, Belovo, Kiselevsk, Leninsk-Kuznetsky and Mezhdurechensk). Only the Moscow Region boasts more 100,000-plus cities.
Kuzbass is the largest coal basin in Russia. It is the major, and at times the only, processed raw material supplier for many domestic industries. The coal reserves in Kuzbass are seven times more than the world's total oil and natural gas reserves when converted into like energy units. An estimated 693 billion tonnes of coal can be found in this regional deposit. In addition, Kuzbass boasts 73% of Russia's total reserves of coking coal (207 billion tones) and over 80% of the coking coal production in Russia.
Kuzbass coal is of a unique quality. It can be found in all grades and groups – from brown to anthracite. However, its primary natural advantage is that it combines such qualitative indicators as a high calorific value, a low sulfur content, low moisture and a medium ash content.
The Kemerovo Region is also rich in other fuel resources, such as peat – boasting some 20 deposits, and oil and natural gas.
Additionally, there are over 90 deposits of ore, including gold, silver, iron, aluminium, manganese, zinc, lead, copper, titanium, chrome, tungsten, molybdenum, mercury, antimony, uranium and thorium.
The gross regional product in the first half of 2012 was estimated at 343.8 billion roubles, which is 1.8% higher than last year. The construction volume was estimated at 117.8% compared to the same period last year, investments to fixed assets were estimated at 114.7%, retail trade was estimated at 104% and paid services for the population at 105%. In the first six months of 2012, over 92 million tonnes of coal were extracted, which is 2.8% more than last year.
The average wage in the region over the first five months of 2012 was estimated at 22,000 roubles, which is 17.9% more than in 2011.
