ASSESSMENT OF THE COAL RESOURCES OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC:

COAL CHARACTER AND DISTRIBUTION, GEOLOGY, MINING, AND IMPORTANCE TO THE NATION'S FUTURE

USGS Open File Report 97-137A (English)

B. COAL REGIONS AND AREAS

1. Alay Coal Region

The Alay coal region comprises a west-trending, discontinuous series of subbituminous coal deposits just north of the Tadjikistan border in southwestern Kyrgyzstan (fig.1). The area extends in the Kyzyl Suu River valley near the border with Tadjikistan. There are seven named coal localities in the region and the resource potential of the region is poorly understood because of a lack of exploration. Most of the known coal localities are in the foothills of the Alay Range and access for exploration may be difficult because of lack of roads. Two small surface coal mines in the Kyzyl-Bulak area are presently in operation and another nearby in the Norus-Kul area recently started operations (fig.2).

2. South Fergana Coal Region

Coal has been mined in the South Fergana coal region since at least 1866. The region extends along the south side of the Fergana Valley from the southwestern end of Kyrgyzstan to near the city of Osh. Fifteen named coal deposits are known in the region (fig.1). Many of them have been or are being mined and some have been only partially explored. All of the coals in the region are of brown coal rank, perhaps largely of subbituminous B rank in American classification. Most of the deposits are of relatively small size because the Jurassic-age coal-bearing rocks are preserved in folded and faulted segments of the southern edge of the Fergana basin.

A major portion of the coal formerly produced in the region was destined for industrial and boiler fuel and domestic use in adjoining parts of Tadjikistan and Uzbekistan. That market has at least partially disappeared because of new national / economic borders that dissect natural regions that were formerly unified in the USSR, but various types of barter arrangements exist.

3. East Fergana Coal Region (Uzgen Basin)

The East Fergana coal region contains seventeen named coal localities in a belt of Jurassic rocks that extends from near Dzhalal Abad southeast to the border with China (fig.1). The region contains the largest block of coal-bearing Jurassic rocks in the Republic and the rocks are all believed to have been deposited in the same depositional basin, the Uzgen Basin (Kashirin, Ibragimov, and Karabalayev, 1975). Folds and faults are common and some parts of the block are now isolated from the main mass. The Jurassic rocks are thinnest in the northwestern part of the region and there are more coal beds in that area. The Jurassic rocks are as much as 5,000m thick in the southern part of the region but there are fewer coal beds. All of the coal-bearing rocks of Jurassic age are preserved on the southwest flank of the Fergana Range. The Fergana Range is the site of the Talas-Fergana fault, a striking structural feature of Central Asia with lateral displacement of as much as 180 km with movement continuing at the present time. A member of the Institute of Geology called it their San Andreas fault.

The coal in the region ranges in rank from bituminous to anthracite. Some of the coal is reported to have coking characteristics but there is no market demand for this coal at present. Some places in the region have long mining histories but many areas are poorly explored and undeveloped. Several localities in the region are presently producing coal from mines opened as part of the Private Enterprises Mining Program and some other areas might be suitable with more exploration and access.

4. North Fergana Coal Region

The North Fergana coal region comprises a northwest-trending belt of Jurassic rocks that extends from the small village of Avletim on the north to the Kara Unkyur River on the southeast. Coal of subbituminous-A and -B rank (long-flame rank) is present at seven different localities in the region. Although Dzhal-Abad is the main city of the region, Osh is the major city servicing the coal industry, and the headquarters of both the KYRGYZKOMUR and the Association of Small (Private) Enterprises are located there. Direct access to the region is by good roads that cross Uzbekistan. The coal deposits of the North Fergana Region were selected for early development in energy budget planning for the central Asia region of the former Soviet Union because of their location relative to transportation infrastructure and to areas of energy need. The mining complex headquartered at Tash-Kumyr includes the Kara Tut and Tegenek mines. In this general area the coal-bearing sequence contains several seams that are mined in different parts of the area. In some localities, such as the Severnay underground mine, two or more coal beds contained major reserves.

Most of the coal localities are located in the foothills of the Fergana Range near or in the valley of the Naryn River. Near here the Naryn is joined by other streams and, named the Syr Darya, extends northwest as the major source of water for the irrigated farming areas of Uzbekistan and Kazakstan and eventually to the dwindling Aral Sea.

In the past, the North Fergana Region produced much of the coal that was transported by railroad to destinations in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakstan. For a variety of reasons these markets no longer exist or are only partially accessible.

5. South-Central Coal Region

Coal is known to be present in three deposits in the South Central coal region. The known deposits are all in small exposures of the coal-bearing rocks of Jurassic age. The rocks of Jurassic age are only exposed at a few places in the region but could from a geological perspective be present underneath younger rocks at other places as well. Exploration of all types is needed to allow even a preliminary understanding of the coal resource potential of the region. The rank of weathered samples reported from two sites is near the subbituminous / bituminous boundary.

The lightly-inhabited region is poorly connected by roads to the remainder of Kyrgyzstan. A ready market exists there for coal hauled into the region from the Kavak coal basin. A new mine in the Turuk area was inaugurated by the President of the Republic in December, 1995. Reportedly, attempts are underway to open a mine in the Aksay area. The region is suffering an energy shortage and the team received reports from diverse sources that residents were starting to cut the existing trees for winter fuel. Exploration of more of the known coal deposits to assist Private Enterprises mining should be undertaken as soon as possible.

The very limited exploration done to date provides small basis for resource evaluation in the area, but the Aksay area is estimated to contain as much as 121 thousand tonnes of coal, all in the inferred category (but not approved by a central commission), and the Turuk area is predicted (P3) to contain about 5 and a half million tonnes of coal, of which 62 thousand tonnes are in the balance category (but not officially approved) and the rest, 5.4 million tonnes, in the speculative category. There are no available resource estimates for the Turugart area but thin lenticular bodies of poor quality coal are reported at several places in an area 1km by 17km. Coal is reportedly present at least one more place in the region but no information is available.

The region contains the upper part of the Naryn River, the site of numerous hydropower development proposals. Supplemental sources of energy in the region will be needed during development if it proceeds. Whether coal can provide that other energy must be determined by exploration.

6. Kavak Coal Region

The Kavak coal region is located in the central part of Kyrgyzstan 130 km south of Bishkek (fig.1, 2). The six named coal localities in the region are in the foothills of several discontinuous mountain ranges that occupy much of the central part of Kyrgyzstan. In particular, most of the region lies between the Dzhumgoltau on the north and the Moldotau on the south. To reach the Kavak region from Bishkek one must travel east to Balykchy near the western end of Lake Issyk Kul and then proceed southwest an equal distance to the region. Alternatively, the Kavak region can be reached over a precipitous road over the Kyrgyz Range south of Kara Balta, which is west of Bishkek.

The coal occurs within a discontinuous, west-trending belt of Jurassic rocks in the general vicinity of Min Kush (fig. 2). Two operating coal mines are located in the Kavak region, Kara-Kiche and Agulak. The two mines are separated areally by about 42 km, but by road the distance is about 90 km. Both mines are administrated from Agulak. In addition to these two mines, at least four undeveloped coal occurrences are reported to be present in the area. Development and recovery of coal in the region has largely taken place in the past few years but geologic understanding of the area is well advanced because the Jurassic rocks that contain the coal also contain uranium that was intensively mined a few decades ago. Recently, a private enterprise mine has been developed in the Kara-Kiche area. The coals are subbituminous-B in rank (B3 rank).

Total resource estimates for the region are about 812 million tonnes. This is probably a conservative figure that would be increased if exploration was resumed to increase the recoverable reserves of the region.

7. Issyk-Kul Coal Region

A narrow belt of Jurassic sedimentary rocks, including coals, extends nearly the entire length of Issyk-Kul' (lake) along its south shore and an equal distance farther east past the border into Kazakstan nearly to China (fig. 1). In parts of this belt of rock many coal beds have been reported, but only two sites with adequate thickness, extent, and access are known to date. Soguty, at the town of Kadzhi-Say on the south shore of Issyk Kul, is subbituminous coal, mined both for energy and, in the 1940's, for uranium from ash concentrates; Soguty closed in 1995-96. Dzhergalan, east near the Kazakstan border, is mined for high-volatile bituminous coal (long-flame coal).

Both of the mines formerly supplied coal to the district heat plant at Kara Kol (Przhevalsk) at the east end of Issyk Kul. The mine at Soguty is in the process of deactivation because the recoverable reserves are reportedly depleted. The present mine at Dzhergalan still has minable reserves to recover and in addition there is an estimated 12 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves nearby that could be mined if new inclined shafts were built.

8. Chu Coal Region

The Chu region is located in the northernmost part of Kyrgyzstan about 40 km northwest of Bishkek (fig. 1). Chu is the name of the westward-flowing river that forms a portion of the country's border with Kazakstan. A coal-mining complex is located just across the border in Kazakstan where Jurassic coal-bearing strata are exposed at the surface. Currently, mining activity is in suspension because of economic competition with the more extensive and better developed coal deposits in central Kazakstan. The reason Chu is discussed in this report is that it is possible that the coal-bearing strata exposed in Kazakstan are present in the subsurface of Kyrgyzstan below Quaternary deposits in the area north of Bishkek. Seven oil and gas exploration holes have been drilled just southeast of Bishkek on an anticlinal structure. None of these holes encountered coal. At the time of our visit in the fall of 1994, an oil and gas exploration hole was being drilled near Kara Balta, about 60 km west of Bishkek. The hole had reached a depth of 1,500 m but was still in the Tertiary part of the section. The hole is scheduled for completion in Paleozoic strata at a depth of 3,000 m. The resource potential of the Chu region cannot be evaluated without exploration drilling for coal in the area immediately south of the border with Kazakstan.

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