OREANDA-NEWS  The state-owned Indian Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and NMDC have considered acquiring Russian coal companies that produce coking coal, which is essential for metallurgy. This is reported by Reuters with reference to Indian sources.

According to them, an Indian delegation went to Russia last month for preliminary talks with representatives of industry and the government. SAIL also has an internal commission to study the issues of purchasing raw materials and assets.

Currently, India covers more than half of its coking coal needs at the expense of Australia, and the rest at the expense of Russia and the United States. Earlier, Indian state-owned companies had already explored the possibility of buying enterprises in Australia and Indonesia. It is not specified whether the Russian authorities and businesses are ready for such deals.

India remains the second importer of Russian coal after China, and in May, Indian Deputy Steel Minister Sandeep Poundrik noted that the country wants to increase supplies of coking coal from Russia by two to three times. However, he clarified at the time that such cooperation was possible "if the quality and price were appropriate."

The Russian coal industry has been in a very difficult situation for several years in a row due to falling world prices, sanctions and logistical difficulties. In April, Ilya Seredyuk, governor of the Kemerovo Region, Russia's main coal mining region, called the crisis in the industry merciless because extremely unfavorable factors have overlapped, and besides, the situation remains bad for the third year in a row.

According to Dmitry Islamov, deputy head of the Ministry of Energy, by the end of 2026, the total loss of Russian coal companies will exceed 500 billion rubles, and only a weak ruble and rising prices can save them.