The Russian market of equipment for the mining industry is gaining popularity
The Russian market of equipment for mining, processing and transportation of minerals is extremely promising. Today we offer manufacturers and suppliers of industrial equipment to get acquainted with the opportunities that they can take advantage of in the Russian market.
Over the past year, the mining industry in Russia has been able to adapt to the challenges. The massive exit of foreign manufacturers and equipment suppliers was followed by Russian and foreign companies that filled the emptied niches. However, the market of equipment for the mining, processing and transportation of minerals still offers great prospects for cooperation.
Mining indicators: scale and prospects
At the beginning of 2023, the Russian mining industry performance was declining. However, since April, there has been a positive trend. According to Rosstat data for June, the commodity sector showed positive results - сompared to June 2022, coal production increased by 2.3%. In the first half of the year, 33.4 million tons of coal were mined, which is 1.1% more than in the same period in 2022. The extraction of metal ores showed an increase of 1% compared to June 2022. Mining of non-metallic minerals increased by 30.2% in June compared to the previous month.
The oil and gas sector remains one of the main pillars of the Russian economy. According to the forecasts of the Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov, in 2023 the increase in oil and gas reserves in Russia will be no less than last year. An increase of 600 million tons of oil and 675 billion cubic meters of natural gas is expected. The extraction and processing of minerals requires equipment, technologies, digital solutions - some niches are still empty on the Russian market.
Lack of machines and equipment
It is common knowledge that during many years the mining industry in Russia has been dependent on the import of machines, equipment and spare parts. Experts provide the following figures: import dependence is estimated to be 50-55%, for open mining - at least 80%. The 60% of reagents for minerals processing were imported from abroad.
In 2022, many well-known brands left the Russian market. Their products were widely used in overburden and mining operations, beneficiation and metal production. Mining enterprises were able to switch to alternatives from other countries in a fairly short time, but still there is a shortage in some segments. For example, in mining machines.
According to the authoritative industry association "Miners of Russia", in the near future there will be a shortage of underground drilling machines, loading and hauling machines, small dump trucks, as well as equipment for open mining. The association assessment is confirmed by NPO RIVS, a Russian manufacturer of various solutions for mining industry. The head of the sales department, Vyacheslav Trohimets, says that the mining equipment for drilling and blasting were often imported from abroad. Anatoly Khasyanov, General Director of NPO RIVS, noted there are issues with the replacement of filtration equipment: “Today, the issue of filter production is challenging. The horizontal press filters, tower filters and belt filters were also imported from abroad.”
The Russian mining industry also faced a shortage of spare parts and components. The situation was commented by Alexander Brezhnev, Director of the Department for Repairs and Maintenance of a large gold mining company Highland Gold: “Of course, the supply of foreign components has become quite complicated, we are carefully studying the market, actively communicating with Russian and foreign companies, discussing production of alternative spare parts. Now our priority is the transition to alternatives - not only domestic products, but also imported components from third countries.”
Industry Digitization: Parts and Software Needed
Digitization is not just a maket trend. In the 21st century, this is a must for leading mining companies that want to stay up-to-date, competitive and increase production. However, digitalization requires software. Russia does not have many of its own products, and the issue of their replacement will take more than a year. As of the beginning of 2023, dependence on specialized software imports reached 90%.
At the same time, Russian mining enterprises are fully aware of the importance of digitalization for their business and therefore are trying to integrate digital solutions into production processes. According to the results of a survey conducted by the Technologies of Trust company, 63% of the surveyed enterprises are confident that IT projects will significantly reduce production costs over the next 5 years. This fact is also confirmed by the following figures: in 2021, the cost of introducing and using digital technologies in Russian mining amounted to 80.1 billion rubles, which is double growth compared to 2019 (RUB 48.1 billion). According to the forecasts of Boris Kurtsev, CEO of Macromine RUS LLC, 75% of the software market will be released in Russia in the nearest future.
Foreign companies are already mastering the Russian market
Chinese, Turkish suppliers and manufacturers are already actively occupying the niches of the partners from European countries, the USA, Japan and other geographies. Companies from China began to work on the Russian market with enthusiasm. For example, in the segment of heavy dump trucks, the share of Chinese products increased from 10 to 40%. Some mining equipment manufacturers (for example, SANY) increased the supply of their products to Russia by 10 times. South Africa (for example, NCP) started the supply of ore grinding mills. Many companies are now sharing their experience in replacing the brands that are no longer active in Russian market. Thus, the world's largest producer of platinum and palladium, Nornickel, began working with equipment from China, Turkey and Peru.
MiningWorld Russia is the best way to enter the Russian market
For 27 years, MiningWorld Russia has been one of the leading industry platforms in Russia, which demonstrates equipment for the mining industry. The number of exhibitors interested in the Russian market is growing year by year. In 2023, 368 companies from 16 countries took part in the exhibition - twice as many as last year.
The main benefits of participation in the exhibition are: new customers, increase in sales and expansion sales to new geographies. MiningWorld Russia is visited by industry professionals - specialists and heads of mining enterprises, trading companies. In 2023, the exhibition was visited by 8,299 people, of which 70% hold senior positions in their companies.
