BEH moved the headquarters of Mini Maritsa Iztok from Radnevo to Sofia BEH moved the headquarters of Mini Maritsa Iztok SPJSC from Radnevo to Sofia. The decision was taken by the 6 out of 7 members of BEH. It also provides for a new statute of the company. The Board of Directors of BEH instructs the Executive Director of Mini Maritsa Iztok, Todor Todorov, to take the necessary actions to register the changes and a new statute of the company. The two unions in the company - CITUB and Podkrepa, in which over 90% of employees are members, have prepared a protest declaration, which will be sent to BEH, the Ministry of Energy and all other responsible institutions, the chairman of CITUB in the coal company said. "The relocation of the company's headquarters in Sofia is madness. We understand from this decision that the management will be moved to Sofia. If this is not the case, it would be appropriate for someone to explain to us what this is all about."
Source: Other (24.01.2022)

Increase salaries in Mini Maritsa-East by 15% Salaries in Mini Maritza-East will be increased by 15% from April 1, 2022. This was agreed by the participants in the Coal Branch Council, which was held at the Ministry of Energy under the chairmanship of Deputy Minister Plamen Danailov. About 7.8% of the growth of wages covers the officially reported inflation for 2021. In addition, another 7.2% were added to them, while maintaining all social benefits for employees in the company. The participants in the branch council also agreed on the investment program of the company. For 2022 it is worth BGN 62 million, but will be supplemented to BGN 100 million. The funds will be invested in the necessary current and capital repairs, as well as in renewable energy sources for own use. The Ministry of Energy is committed to provide full assistance to the company to provide the necessary funding for the normal investment process. https://divident.eu/
Source: Other (31.03.2022)

Mini Maritsa Iztok for the first time starts exporting coal For the first time in its 70-year history, Mini Maritza Iztok will export coal to power plants outside the territory of the Maritza-Iztok complex. The company informed that on June 17, 2022, they signed a contract with a Serbian company that will supply Bulgarian coal to power plants near Belgrade. The contract is valid until April 30, 2023, with an extension clause. For the term of the contract, it is planned to sell 1,750 million tons of lignite coal at a higher price than the one at which the power plants in the Maritza-East complex are bought. The coal will be delivered to the site of Mini Maritsa Iztok and the company has no commitment to transport it to Serbian plants. The guarantee of payments is provided by an irrevocable letter of credit. The realization of Bulgarian lignite coal outside the Maritza East complex has so far been unthinkable and it has hardly ever been assumed that their export is possible, especially given the gloomy forecasts for the recent closure of the Mini Maritsa Iztok in recent years. Ilza Chinkova, Executive Director of the company, commented that the contract for export of Bulgarian lignite coal will not affect the guaranteed deliveries for the power plants of the Maritza-East complex and is a serious achievement and good prospect, Chinkova said.
Source: Sega (23.06.2022)

The mineral and raw materials industry reported growth for 2021. For another year, Bulgaria occupies one of the leading places in Europe in the extraction of copper, gold and lignite coal. The main raw materials mined in our country are lead-zinc, copper and polymetallic ores, lignite coal, gypsum, limestone, bentonite, kaolin, quartz sands, refractory clays and marble. The branch recorded a growth of 10% last year, reaching an output of nearly 117 million tons - the highest level for recent years. The increase in the extraction of lignite coal is significant - by 30% compared to 2020. Almost a third of the extracted quantities in the sector are inert and construction materials. Over 60% of it falls on mining. The products of the mineral raw materials industry form over 3 billion euros of exports. Labor productivity in the industry remains high and is nearly 2.5 times higher than the industry average in the country. 19,700 people are employed in the sector, and another 120,000 through activities directly serving the sector. Salary in the sector remains among the highest in the country, ranking first among other economic sectors, with the average annual salary reaching BGN 2,150. Investments in environmental protection amount to BGN 37.8 million. During the last academic year, more than 330 students in mining majors were trained in dual form, and more than 100 graduates successfully graduated. The Bulgarian Chamber of Mining and Geology also handed out its annual awards in nine categories. An award for the highest annual results achieved in the mineral industry in 2021 was awarded to "Mini-Maritsa East" EAD for the growth of ore production last year compared to 2020 /+31.5%%. The award for innovation went to "Elatsite-Med" AD for the project "Design and implementation of an automated system for the study of deformation processes in the area of ??"Open Ore Storage No. 1" of the "Elatsite" Ore Mining Complex. Safety and Health Award - for "Dundee Precious Metals Chelopech" EAD, which achieved zero occupational injuries last year.
Source: Banker (19.08.2022)

From July 1, the state-owned "Mini Maritsa Iztok" EAD started exporting coal to Serbia. The decision was historic in the 70-year history of the mine, which until now has always supplied thermal power plants in the Mariska Basin. According to the contract with the Serbian side, exports will continue until the end of the heating season - April 30, 2023, but there is an extension clause. It is planned to sell 1,750,000 tons of lignite coal at a price higher than that at which the plants in the "Maritsa East" complex buy.
Source: Duma (23.08.2022)

Danube transports are decreasing, but freight rates are increasing In 2022, a serious decrease in ship traffic is reported, both compared to the previous two years and compared to the pre-pandemic 2019. If we compare only the three months with the lowest waters – June, July and August – with the same months of 2019, the difference in the number of vessels that passed along the lower reaches of the river is more than 2.5 times: below 1700 versus nearly 4400, respectively. of the tonnage of transported goods, the difference is even greater, since in 2019. the waters were not so low and therefore no such great restrictions were imposed on the navigation of ships. A decline is also reported on passenger ships. From the beginning of this year to the end of August, there were 227 visitors to Ruse, while for the same period of 2019, the city was visited by 357 passenger ships. Shippers also report two positive trends for shipping. The first is related to the war in Ukraine and the export of Ukrainian grain. The second trend is the unexpected export of Bulgarian coal to Serbia, transported by barges along the Danube from Ruse and Svishtov to Belgrade. It is about the export of 1.7 million tons of lignite from Mini "Maritsa Iztok", which started two months ago and will continue until the end of the upcoming winter. Freight rates for transporting this coal are also high – 15-20 euros per ton. In general, the war and the subsequent energy crisis in Europe raised the freight on the river to such an extent that some of our ship owners increased the salaries of their captains to BGN 9,000. Having done so despite increased costs due to increased fuel prices and despite losses from the two-month layover of their ships due to low water.
Source: Banker (12.10.2022)

For the first nine months of this year, the largest coal mining company in Bulgaria, "Mini Maritsa-Iztok" EAD, made a profit of over BGN 61 million, and the mined coal was over 8 million tons more than in the same period of last year. For the first time in the 70-year history of "Mini Maritsa-East" EAD, this year a contract was concluded for the export of coal to the Republic of Serbia. The contract is in accordance with national and international legislation, prior to its signing it was approved by "Bulgarian Energy Holding" EAD and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Source: BTA (28.10.2022)

The prosecutor's office is checking the contract of Mini-Maritsa East for the export of coal to Serbia The prosecutor's office in Stara Zagora has requested documentation in connection with the contract of "Mini-Maritsa East" EAD for the export of coal to Serbia. The contract was signed at the beginning of this year and provides for the export of 1,750,000 tons of coal to our western neighbor. Reports to the Prosecutor's Office regarding the contract, however, became the reason for its inspection. One of the arguments is that the coal should have been sold at market prices, because the raw material is energy. "Mini-Maritsa East" stated that it is impossible to compare lignite with a calorific value of 1,600 kilocalories per kg with black coal with a calorific value of 6,000 kilocalories per kg. On the stock market, black coal is priced at an average of $350 per metric ton, but this price includes transportation costs from Australia or Indonesia to a northern European port, the company said. According to the director of Mines, Ilza Chinkova, the interests of the company and the state are protected. She pointed out that the clauses in the contract are extremely advantageous. The payment of the coal is guaranteed by a letter of credit, the transport is at the expense of the Serbian buyer, and the contract can be terminated at any time without penalty, Chinkova added.
Source: news.bg (28.10.2022)

Kozloduy NPP continues to set records in its revenue and profit. After reporting BGN 1 billion for the first quarter of the year, by the end of the nine months the plant's profit exceeded this amount and reached BGN 1.37 billion. This is BGN 651 million more on an annual basis and is mainly due to the high electricity market prices. It is precisely from the sale of electricity that the revenues - BGN 5 billion, which is 223% more than a year ago - were formed. BGN 2.13 billion were contributed to the "Security of the Electricity System" fund. The profit of the Bulgarian Energy Holding is even greater - BGN 1.44 billion, which is almost a double increase compared to the end of September 2021. One the reason for this is the reduced loan to TPP Maritsa-Iztok 2, after BGN 550 million was repaid ahead of schedule. The second reason is the larger dividends received from Kozloduy NPP and ESO. BGN 61.4 million is the profit of "Mini Maritsa-East", with BGN 51.8 million more on an annual basis. The company's revenues increased by 55% to BGN 633.4 million, which is due to increased coal production and higher coal prices.
Source: 24 chasa (14.11.2022)