DISTRIBUTION OF COAL IN ECONOMIC REGION XII OF THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01093A000500160002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 36
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 9, 1999
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: June 25, 1954
• Content Type: IR

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PROVISIONAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT-
DISTRIBUTION OF COAL IN ECONOMIC REGION XII
OF THE USSR
CIA/RR PR-65
(ORR Project 26.201)
25 June 195+
NOTICE
The data and conclusions contained in this rep.ort
do not necessarily represent the final position of
ORR arid should be regarded as provisional only and
subject to revision. Comments and data which may
be available to the user are solicited.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL
DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE
ESPIONAGE LAWS, TITLE 18, USC, SECS. 793 AND 794, THE
TRANSMISSION OR REVELATION OF WHICH IN ANY MANNER TO AN
UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS PROHIBITED BY LAW.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Research and Reports
US OFFICIALS ONLY
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CONTENTS
Page
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Ii. Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1. Natural Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3. Types and Qualities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
-h. Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
III. Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1. Distribution According to Length of Haul. . . . . . . 10
2. Distribution to Principal Consuming Areas . . . . . . 12
3. Distribution of Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
IV. Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
V. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Appendixes
Appendix A. Estimated Distribution of Coal to Specific Consumer
Groups in Region XII, 1953. . . . . . . . . . . 23
Appendix B. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Appendix C. Gaps in Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Appendix D. Sources and Evaluation of Sources. . . . . . . . 29
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C IA/RR PR-65
(ORR Project 26.201)
S-E-C R-E-T
DISTRIBUTION OF COAL.IN ECONOMIC REGION XII
OF THE USSR*
Summar
The industrial economy of Economic Region XII** of the USSR is
largely dependent on coal for its maintenance and development. The
percentage of primary energy supplied by coal in the region is
believed to be as high as the over-all Soviet average of 75 percent.
Total production for 1953 is estimated at 14.7 million metric
tons.*** This production was supplemented by imports of high-grade
bituminous coal, estimated at 830,000 tons, from Region XI and from
Manchuria. The total supply of 15,530,000 tons was composed of
38 percent hard coal**** and 62 percent lignite.
Of the total supply, 4,242,000 tons -- approximately 28 percent --
were consumed in mining areas or in local communities that were supplied
by short-haul transportation. The remaining 11,288,000 tons -- 72
percent -- were distributed to consuming areas that required long-haul
transportation by rail, river, and sea movements. Included in the
latter category were 218,000 tons which were exported to Japan from
Sakhalin Island.
Approximately half of the total supply of coal was distributed to
the three major consuming areas in and around the cities of Komsomol'sk,
Khabarovsk, and Vladivostok.
Of the total estimated consumption for 1953, 20 percent was con-
sumed by thermal electric power installations, 18 percent by the
railroads, 8 percent for space heating, 4 percent for the production
* The estimates and conclusions contained in this report represent
the best judgment of the responsible analyst as of 15 June 1954.
** The term region in this report refers to the economic regions
defined and numbered on CIA Map 12048, 9-51 (First Revision 7-52),
USSR: Economic Regions.
*** Tonnages throughout this report are given in metric tons.
**** For the purposes of this report the term hard coal means
anthracite, semianthracite, or bituminous coal.
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of cement, and 2 percent for the production of ferrous metals. The
balance of the coal, for which no detailed breakdown could be made,
was distributed to a variety of consumers, including other industrial
and military installations.
On the mainland the Trans-Siberian Railroad is the principal trans-
portation facility. It serves most of the developed coal mining areas
and industrial centers, and it provides access to both river and coastal
ports. On Sakhalin Island the primary public rail transportation is
provided by the Sakhalin Railroad Company.
The principal ports on Sakhalin Island for shipping coal have a
limited season of navigation; this makes it necessary to store coal
during the off season. It is estimated that 440,000 tons of coal were
stored at the beginning of the navigation season in 1953.
Although Region XII could reasonably be expected to participate in
the ambitious program of economic development planned for the entire
USSR, it is believed unlikely that the pattern of coal distribution
in the region will change, regardless of any increase in consumption.
I. Introduction.
The purpose of this report is to determine as fully as possible for
Economic Region XII of the USSR the production, importation, and
exportation .of coal as they affect the pattern of its distribution and
consumption; and the facilities, routes, and methods utilized in trans-
porting it to areas of consumption.
Region XII is included in, but does not comprise, the entire Soviet
Far East. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the
east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by Manchuria, and on the west
by a line running from Pokrovka on the Amur River generally northward
to the mouth of the Kolyma River in the East Siberian Sea. In.area
it represents possibly no more than 10 percent of the total USSR.*
Its population is estimated at 4.5 million. This is about 2-f percent
of the total population of the USSR, which in 1952 was reported to be
* The regional area is assumed to comprise about one-third of the
Soviet Far East, which is reported to comprise 31 percent of the total
USSR. 1/ (Footnote references in ar abic numerals are to sources listed
in Appendix n.)
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208 million. 2/ Much of the area is very sparsely developed, and the
population is unevenly distributed. Approximately one-third of the
population is located in Khabarovsk Kray (including Magadan Oblast),
one-third in Primorskiy Kray, and the remainder is about evenly
divided between Amur and Sakhalin Oblasts.*
The greatest concentrations of population are found along the main
line and branches of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. This is the most
important transportation system within the region. Connecting with
the Trans-Siberian Railroad at Sui-fen-ho in the vicinity of
Vladivostok is the Chinese - Ch'ang-ch'un Railroad (formerly the
Chinese Eastern Railroad) which traverses northern Manchuria and again
connects with the Trans-Siberian Railroad beyond the western boundary
of Region XII near Chita. The Amur, Sungari, and Ussuri Rivers also
serve much of this area. Another transportation system serving
Region XII is the Northern Sea Route. Its southern terminus is at
Vladivostok. It traverses the Pacific and Arctic waters to reach its
northern terminus at Murmansk in European USSR. 3/
Within Region XII are four areas of economic development: (1) the
interior mainland, (2) the mainland coastal area, including the city
of Magadan, (3) Kamchatka Peninsula, and (4) Sakhalin Island. The
largest of these is the interior mainland. Included in it are the
cities Khabarovsk and Komsomol'sk and the greatest rural agricultural
development of the region. The coastal area includes Vladivostok, the
large shipbuilding and military center of Sovetskaya Gavan', the port
of Nikolayevsk, and the Magadan-Kolyma area, which is the center of
the gold-mining activities of the region. The Kamchatka Peninsula is
important mainly as a fishing and fur-collecting area, although some
development of military potential may be in progress. Sakhalin Island,
separated from the mainland by the Straits of Tatar, is important as a
producer of coal and petroleum and also for fishing, lumbering, ship-
building, paper manufacturing, and miscellaneous industrial activity.
Such public railroad transportation as exists on Sakhalin Island
is provided by the Sakhalin Railroad Company. This railroad operates
only in South Sakhalin. Its service is confined primarily to points
along the eastern seaboard and to about half of the southwestern coastal
area. Private railroads, which are mostly electrified narrow-gage
trolley lines, connect the coal mines in the northern area of the west
coast of South Sakhalin with nearby coastal consuming points and
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transshipping ports. Another rail line terminating at Aleksandrovsk
on the west coast of North Sakhalin serves the coal mines and other
industries in North Sakhalin.
Before World War II, coal accounted for approximately 60 percent
of the total primary energy of the USSR. 1+/ Increased dependence upon
coal as the primary source of heat and energy has been evident since
then. By 1950 it was planned that 75 percent of the total primary
energy requirements of the USSR would be supplied by coal. 5/ In
Region XII the percentage of primary energy supplied by coal is
presumably as high as the national average. Much of the region is
underlaid with coal measures, and the proximity of the populated areas
to developed areas of coal production simplifies and encourages the
maintenance and continued development of its industrial economy with
coal.
It is estimated that in 1953 the requirements of the region for
coal for all uses -- including industrial and domestic consumption,
the fueling of railroad locomotives, the bunkering of ships, and the
maintenance of industrial reserve stocks and state storage reserves --
amounted to 15,312,000 tons. Of this amount, approximately 13,530,000
tons, or 88 percent, were used on the mainland and the balance of
1,782,000 tons on Sakhalin Island.*
II. Supply.
Although large areas of the region are underlaid with hard
coal and lignite, apparently only the most accessible deposits and
the seams that are most easily mined have been developed. The
physical characteristics of the seams, insufficient supplies of
mechanical mining equipment, and a shortage of mine labor contribute
to the difficulty of developing new mines in the deep seams.
Where seams of-commercially usable coal have been found com-
paratively near the surface, considerable progress has been made in
mining them by strip or open-pit methods.
* CIA estimate. Production plus imports, minus exports.
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The deep mines in the South Sakhalin area of Sakhalin Island
have a demonstrably greater capacity than present production indicates.
During the Japanese occupation of that area, production from these
mines increased greatly, from 1,196,000 tons in 1934 6/ to 6,471,000
tons in 1941- 7/ When the Japanese occupation was forcibly ended in
1945, large numbers of technicians and experienced coal miners with
the ability to operate and maintain the equipment in these mines were
evacuated. Soviet technicians and miners have not yet been able to
produce from these mines more than 50 percent of their prewar Japanese
production.
2. Production.
The several developed coal fields within Region XII, the
estimated tons of hard coal or lignite produced in 1953, and the per-
cent each field contributes to total regional production are given in
Table 1.
Estimated Production of Coal in Region XII
by Producing Mines and Types of Coal a/*
1953
Hard Coal
(Thousand
Metric
Tons)
Lignite
(Thousand
Metric
Tons)
Percent
Khabarovsk Kray
Raychikhinsk-Kivda 0
5,400 b/
37
Urgal (Bureya Basin) 600 c/
0
4
Northern Regions
Kolyma, Anadyr, Tilichiki 400 d/
0
3
r
P
i
ki
K
r
mo
s
y
ray
Artem 0
2,800 e/
19
Suchan 1,500 f/
0
10
Tavrichanka 0
300 g/
2
Lipovtsy 0
300 g/
2
* Footnotes for Table 1 follow on p. 6.
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Estimated Production of Coal in Region XII
by Producing Mines and Types of Coal a/
1953
(Continued)
Area and Mine
Hard Coal
(Thousand
Metric
Tons)
Lignite
(Thousand
Metric
Tons)
Percent
Primorskiy Kray
(Continued)
Vor-shilov
200
h/
0
1
Ugol'naya
500
h/
0
3
Sakhalin Island
North Sakhalin
425 i/ 0
3
South Sakhalin
1,275 j/ 1,000 j/
16
Total 4,900 9,.800 100
14,700
a. Based primarily on 1952 and earlier production figures
published in source 8/)adjusted to reflect probable interim
growth.
b. Production in 1950 increased by 25.6 percentjor approxi-
mately 8.5 percent per year, which appears reasonable1as
mines are all open-pit operations.
c. Estimated increase is 50 percent over 1950. Mines were
being rehabilitated after an inactive period of several years.
d. Estimated increase is 45 percent over 1950.
e. Estimated increase over 1950 is 12 percent and compares
with estimated increase in Primorskiy Kray as a whole of 11.4
percent. Production in Artem in 1950 was 49.75 percent of
kray total. Estimated 1953 production is 50.0 percent of
estimated kray total.
f. Production in 1950 was 27.86 percent of total Primorskiy
Kray. Estimate for 1953 is 26.78 percent of the kray total.
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Estimated Production of Coal in Region XII
by Producing Mines and Types of Coal a/
1953
(Continued)
Increase in 1953 over 1950 is approximately 7 percent, which
is slightly less than the kray as a whole.
g. These are small mines whose output is mainly used by
local consumers. Although estimated increases over 1950
range from 33 percent to 50 percent, the amount produced
remains small.
h. Estimated increases over 1950 range from 14 percent at
Voroshilov mine to as much as 55 percent at the others. All
are comparatively small mines, whose output is mainly used by
local consumers. Although percentage increases loom large,
the volume produced remains comparatively small.
i. CIA estimate. Based on 1940 production, 9/ adjusted to
embody changes indicated in various prisoner-of-war reports
in 1948 and readjusted to reflect interim changes.
j. Based on Japanese production prior to Soviet occupation, 10/
modified by inability of Russians to maintain Japanese rate of
production, ll / and adjusted to reflect average of production
reports by many prisoners of war in 1947 and 1948. 12/
3. Types and Qualities.
Urgal (Bureya Basin). 13/
Bituminous coal in Urgal is produced from deep mines. Its
ash content is high and varies from 14 to 15 percent in some
workings to 18 to 22 percent in others. It is low in sulfur and
is high in calorific value on an ash- and moisture-free basis. The
coal is suitable for railroad locomotive use, for handfiring or
stoker firing of stationary boilers, and for space heating. The
basin was developed primarily for coking coal, and the coal can be
made into coke suitable for metallurgical use if some leaner coal
or low-temperature-carbonization coke is mixed with it in the oven
charge.
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Suchan. 14/
The Suchan coal mines are deep underground workings. They
produce a medium-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal of high calorific
value. The coal has a hard structure and is suitable for a wide
range of industrial uses. Approximately one-half is suitable for
use in byproduct coke ovens, in gas-producing plants, and in beehive-
type coking ovens.
Voroshilov. 15/
Bituminous coal produced from the Voroshilov mines is
generally inferior to much of the Suchan coal. It is higher in
ash, runs heavily to fines, and is used by local consumers.
Ugol'naya. 161
Coal produced from this mine and small mines nearby is largely
semianthracite in character, high in ash, and substantially similar
in quality to Voroshilov and the poorer grades of Suchan coal.
Raychikhinsk-Kivda. 17/
Brown-colored lignite is produced from the Raychikhinsk-
Kivda mines. It is mined in strip or open-pit mines. It is
generally poor in quality and friable in structure and disintegrates
rapidly in storage. Much of it is high in moisture (34 to 36 percent),
medium in ash (6 to 12 percent), and low in sulfur (.03 to .05 per-
cent). The coal is of medium calorific value. It is noncoking, and its
use without beneficiation is limited primarily to railroad locomotives,
to heating stationary boilers in small manufacturing and steam-power
plants, and to space heating. It is suitable for making briquettes,
and in this process its moisture content is reduced and its calorific
value correspondingly increased. The briquettes make a better burning
fuel, suitable for wider industrial use.
Six briquette plants were planned to be constructed at
Raychikhinsk. Machinery from Germany is reported to have been received
and stored there awaiting installation. Actual construction and
operation of any of these plants, however, is without confirmation.
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Artem. 18/
The lignite produced in the Artem mines is of superior quality
and comes close to being low-grade bituminous coal. It is mined in
underground mines. It is dull coal of the black lignite color, firmer
in structure, noncoking in character, lower in moisture (13 to 15 per-
cent), about the same in ash and sulfur, but higher in calorific value
(5,500 to 6,000 calories) than the Raychikhinsk-Kivda lignites. It is
good coal for producing steam. It burns easily and quickly with a
long flame and thus has a wide range of industrial application
including large steam and thermal electric power plants equipped with
mechanical types of coal-burning equipment.
Tavrichanka and Lipovtsy. 19/
In their physical characteristics these coals are substantially
similar to the Artem coal, but their chemical properties are not so
favorable and they are more limited in their uses.
Sakhalin Island. 20/
The Sakhalin Island coals vary in character from good-quality
lignite through medium-grade, noncoking bituminous steam coals, to
high-grade bituminous coals of strong coking character. Both under-
ground mines and strip or open-pit mines are used to exploit the
deposits. Some of the lignite is pressed into briquettes for wider
industrial use. Some of the deep-mined bituminous steam coal is
cleaned and processed at the mines to improve quality and suitability
for special uses. Some is processed in low-temperature carbonizing
plants. Presumably, some of the coking coal is coked at ovens on
Sakhalin Island. To supplement the supply of better grades of
bituminous steam and coking coals needed by consumers on the mainland,
it is estimated that approximately 700,000 tons, or about 25 percent
of the island's total coal production, were moved by vessels from
Sakhalin transshipment ports to mainland coastal ports from Vladivostok
on the south to Kamchatka on the north.*
4. Imports.
Region XII appears to be deficient in the production of high-
grade bituminous coals. In 1953, about 830,000 tons were imported to
* CIA estimate, calculated from many varied sources. 21/
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make up for this deficiency. A portion of this deficiency, approxi-
mately 330,000 tons, 22/ was supplied with coal mined at Bukachacha
in the Chita Oblast of Region XI and imported into Region XII over the
Trans-Siberian Railroad.
Some 500,000 tons of high-grade bituminous coal are believed
to have come from northern Manchuria, reaching Region XII through the
rail connection between the Chinese - Chang-ch'un Railroad and the
Trans-Siberian Railroad at Sui-fen-ho and/or by way of the Sungari
River from transshipment ports on the Chinese - Chang-ch'un.Rail-
road. 23/
III. Distribution.
1. Distribution According to Length of Haul.*
Coal is hauled either to local consuming areas or to con-
suming centers requiring longer transportation hauls from the mines.
Local consuming areas are those centers located within the
mining fields for which no railroad service or only a switching
service is performed, and nearby centers to which only short-haul
rail movement is required. All points of consumption on Sakhalin
Island are included in this classification.
* Hauling of coal from a more distant producing field to an
industrial area in closer proximity to another field of coal pro-
duction appears to be contrary to established Soviet policy. Where
it occur3 it seems to be confined largely to the needs of consumers
for types of coal not produced in the nearby mining field. As a
consequence the lignite mines of Raychikhinsk-Kivda and the bitumi-
nous coal mines in Urgal (Bureya Basin), which are in closest
proximity to the industrial areas along the line of the Trans-
Siberian Railroad to and including Khabarovsk and Komsomol'sk, supply
the greatest percentage of coal distributed to that industrial area.
The Artem-Suchan-Voroshilov and other mines in the Primorskiy Kray
area, being located closest to the industrial areas developed along
the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Khabarovsk on the north to and
including Vladivostok on the south, provide the greatest concentration
of distribution of fuel in that area. Also in this industrial area
can be found the greatest concentration of distribution of coal
imported from Manchuria. Although some of this coal may have moved
as far north as Komsomol'sk, the bulk of it is believed to have been
moved to Vladivostok.
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Long-haul areas are consuming centers located away from the
producing fields, to which a railroad transportation movement
involving a mainline is recjuired.* Included are rail movements to
river transshipment ports for shipment to consuming centers served by
river steamers or barges and rail movements to coastal ports for trans-
shipment to ocean going vessels as cargo or for bunkering. Also
included are vessel movements of coal from Sakhalin Island ports to
coastal ports on the eastern shore of the mainland and to Japan.
Coal imported from Region XI and from Manchuria for con-
sumption within Region XII would move within the region either by
river or railroad or both. It has therefore also been included
within the long-haul category.
The volume estimated to have been distributed to local areas
within each producing field and the percentage of each to the total
distributed locally are given in Table 2. Also shown in this table
is the estimated long-haul volume, including exports, from each
producing field and the percentage of each to the total so hauled.
Estimated Distribution of Coal in Region XII
by Local Hauls and Long Hauls
1953
Local Hauls
Long Hauls a/
(Thousand
(Thousand
Metric
Metric
Area and Mine
Tons)
Percent
Tons)
Percent
Khabarovsk Kray
Raychikhinsk-Kivda
510
12
4,890
43
Urgal (Bureya Basin)
0
0
600
5
Northern Regions
Kolyma, Anadyr, Tilichiki
400
10
0
0
Primorskiy Kray
Artem
500
11
2,300
21
Suchan
200
5
1,300
12
* See Map, USSR: Region XII, Coal Distribution by Long-Haul Movement,
1953, following p. 12.
** Footnotes for Table 2 follow on p. 12.
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Estimated Distribution of Coal in Region XII
by Local Hauls and Long Hauls
1953
(Continued)
Local Hauls
Long Hauls a/
(Thousand
(Thousand
Metric
Metric
Area and Mine
Tons)
Percent
Tons)
Percent
Primorskiy Kray
(Continued)
Tavrichanka
300
7
0
0
Lipovtsy
300
7
0
0
Voroshilov
200
5
0
0
Ugol'naya
50
1
450
4
Sakhalin Island
North Sakhalin)
1,782
42
918
8
South Sakhalin)
Imported Coal
0
0
830
7
Total
4,242
100
11,288 b/
100
a. Long-haul tonnage is the difference between total production
(Table 1) plus imports, and amounts shown herein as being used
locally.
b. Including 830,000 tons of coal imported from Region XI and
Manchuria.
2. Distribution to Principal Consuming Areas.
The principal areas of economic development and industrial
concentration are at Komsomol'sk, Khabarovsk, and Vladivostok.
Approximately 7.3 million tons, or 65 percent of the total long-haul
tonnage, were distributed to these three points. All three are
served primarily by the Trans-Siberian Railroad, although service by
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USSR -Region XI
oat Distribution By Long-Haul Movement
1953
Magadan
5b_ r
Petropavlovs
'Sakhalin Island south of 50" Nort/) and the
othe,c boundaries do not necessarily corfespond to
the joundories recognized by the United States
Govirnment.
150
ArrVc
LEGEND
Coal Consumption
(in thousands of metric tons)
The consumption only of that
coal resulting from long-haul
movement is shown.
~-i Movement by rail
Movement by water
Scale 1:10,000,000
0 100 200 300
~atut!, tie
1'r.rQiwi _F _
0- E "
Kilometers
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CHINA
YTAVRA
LIP
VORIS
POD(
ILOV-
ORODNEN
ZALIV F h`IXA
VELIKOaD
Tetyukhey
50~
Japanese
\ s,'?rt
Sovetska aj?
Gavan' 125
-' E
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emenovka
115
Scale 1:3,000,000''
25 50
Miles
2 i 5 50
Kilometers
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way of the Amur River is also available to Komsomol'sk and Khabarovsk.
Vladivostok is serviced by coastal and ocean-going vessels as well as
by the railroad.
The tonnages distributed to these three areas; to the remaining
consuming areas -- grouped as a whole -- which require long-haul move-
ment; and to the group of areas previously identified as "local" are
given in Table 3. The producing mines and tonnages distributed to all
consuming areas by long-haul shipments are given in Table 4.*
Table 3
Estimated Distribution of Coal in Region XII
to Principal Consuming Areas
1953
Consuming Areas
Vladivostok
Komsomol'sk
Khabarovsk
Other Long-Haul
(Including Exports)
Local Areas
Distribution Percent
(Thousand of Total
Metric Tons) Distribution
2,800 a/ 18
2,500 b/ 16
2,000 c/ 13
3,988 d/ 26
4,242_ e/ 27
15,530
a. Calculated largely from reports of many prisoners
of war who worked in Primorskiy Kray mines in 1947-
48. 24/ The amounts of fuel used in railroad operations
and in thermal electric power plants are CIA estimates.
The amount of fuel used for space heating of homes and
public buildings is roughly estimated at one-fourth ton
per capita.
b. Calculated primarily from reports of many prisoners
of war who worked in Khabarovsk Kray mines, and from
* Table~4 follows on p. 15.
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Table 3
Estimated Distribution of Coal in Region XII
to Principal Consuming Areas
1953
(Continued)
source 25/. The amounts of fuel used in railroad
operations, in thermal electric power plants, in ferrous
metals plants, and in cement plants are CIA estimates.
The amount of fuel used in space heating of homes and
public buildings is roughly estimated at one-fourth
ton per capita.
c. Calculated largely from reports of many prisoners
of war who worked in Khabarovsk Kray and Primorskiy
Kray mines. 26/ The amounts of fuel used in railroad
operations, in the thermal.. electric power plants, and
in cement plants are CIA estimates. The amount of
fuel used in space heating is estimated at one-fourth
ton per capita.
d. This tonnage added to preceding three tonnages
equals total long-haul tonnage given in Table 2.
e. Same as local tonnage reported in Table 2.
3. Distribution of Exports.
Although there is no evidence that any of the coal produced
on the mainland was exported in 1953, there are reports of coal being
exported from the mines on Sakhalin Island to Japan.
Before 1945 Sakhalin Island was divided into two areas:
North Sakhalin, which was controlled by the Russians; and South
Sakhalin, otherwise known as Karafuto, which was controlled and
occupied by the Japanese. Sizable shipments of coal were made annually
from Karafuto to Japanese homeland markets. These reached their peak
of 3,912,000 tons in 1941. 27/ They ceased entirely when the Russians
drove the Japanese out and took control of South Sakhalin in 1945.
Thereafter and until 1952, coal shipped from Sakhalin island was
solely for Soviet use. During 1952 the Japanese, needing the Karafuto
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Producing Mines and Distribution of Long-Haul Shipments
in Region XII
1953
Raychik- Urgal Tavrichanka Voroshilov
hinsk- (Bureya Northern and and Sakhalin
Consuming Areas Kivda Basin) Regions Artem. Suchan Lipovtsy Ugol'naya Island Region XI Manchuria Total
Komsomol'sk 1,500 600 4oo 2,500
Khabarovsk 1,800 200 2,000
Vladivostok 1,150 500 450 100 500 2,700 /*
Birobidzhan 350 350
Blagoveshchensk 200 20G
Bureya 200 200
Guberovo 100 100 200
Kraskino 50 50
Kuybyshevka-Vostochnaya 200 200
Lesozavodsk 100 100
Magadan 150 150
Manzovka 200 200
Muli 6o 60
Nakhodka 200 200
Nikolayevsk 125 125
Obluch'ye 250 250
Petropavlovsk 200 200
Semenovka 115 115
Sovetskaya Gavan' 125 125
Spassk-Dal'niy 500 500
Teploye Ozero 150 150
Tutyukhe 50 50
Vanino 30 30
Others 50 35 330 415
Total 41890 J 600 J 0 2,3009 1,300 J 0 450 1 700 / 330 / 500 J 11,070
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Producing Mines and Distribution of Long-Haul Shipments
in Region XII
1953
(Continued)
a. Some mines in this group are so close to Vladivostok that it is believed that deliveries to that point would be considered as local for at least
100 tons; this would raise the Vladivostok total to 2,800 tons.
b. CIA estimates. Based largely on distribution study of traffic movements and density of traffic on the Trans-Siberian Railroad in 1952; supplemented
in part by distribution data in reports of many prisoners of war who worked in the local mines; adjusted to include estimated volume of consumption by
(1) railroads, (2) steel plants, (3) cement plants, and (4) thermal electric power plants. Fuels used for heating homes and public buildings calculated
at one-fourth ton per capita.
c. CIA estimate.
d. CIA estimates. Based on traffic data and supplemented by consumption data for thermal electric power plants, for cement plants, and for space
heating of homes and public buildings calculated at one-fourth ton per capita.
e. CIA estimate. Based on traffic data and supported by proximity of these small local mines to Vladivostok, a city needing a large volume of coal.
f. 28
g. 29
h. 30
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type of coal, prevailed upon the Russians to permit exportation of a
small amount to Japan. Approximately 30,000 tons were exported under
this arrangement in 1952. 31/
Continued negotiations resulted in a barter agreement under
which, in 1953, the Russians were to supply the Japanese with 450,000
tons of Sakhalin coal and the Japanese were to repair Soviet fishing
vessels in Japanese waters. 32/ Later in 1953 the amount of coal to
be supplied was reduced to 352,340 tonsswith delivery of 210,000 tons
to be made in 1953 and the remainder in the first half of 1954- 33/
The amount of coal exported under this agreement in 1953 reportedly
amounted to approximately 217,745 tons. 34/
IV. Consumption.
The amount of coal consumed is equal to the amount distributed,
including any coal placed in plant inventory storage piles or in
State Fuel Reserves. The volume consumed varies from one consuming
center to another, depending on the number, size, and types of con-
sumers located within each. Types of consumers vary between areas,
depending in large measure on the availability of raw materials and
facilities for distribution and consumption of the products of pro-
duction, Prominent among the consumers are railroads, brick plants,
:lothing factories, and shipyards in the southern part; food and
fish processing and packing plants along the coastline; thermal
electric power plants, military and naval establishments, and public
and private buildings requiring space heating, which are dispersed
throughout the entire region.
Estimated consumption of coal in Region XII is given in Table 5.*
The consumers are divided into the following groups: Group 1, those
for which information was available on all units or a major portion
of the units of the group; Group 2, those for which information was
available on some units but was fragmentary for other units; and
Group 3, those for which consumption was unknown for any units.
The estimated distribution of coal to specific consumer groups
in the various consuming areas in Region XII is shown in Appendix A.
Table 5 follows on p. 18.
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Estimated Consumption of Coal in Region XII
by Consuming Groups
1953
Quantity
(Thousand
Metric Tons)
Group 1
Thermal Electric Power
Railroads
Space Heating
Cement
Ferrous Metals
Group 2
General Industrial
Pulp and Paper Mills
Synthetic Fuel Plant
Military and Naval Bases
Miscellaneous Uses
Bunkers and Vessel Cargoes
Group 3
Consumed in part by categories
in Group 2 above, and partly by
miscellaneous consumers not other-
wise shown.
3)032 b/
2,855
1,319
579 b/
215 b/
8,000
389 d/
403 e/
190 f/
200 g/
187 h/
35
1,404
5,908 i/
15,312
Footnotes for Table 5 follow on p. 19..
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Percent
of Total
Consumption
20
18
4
2
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Table 5
Estimated Consumption of Coal in Region XII
by Consuming Groups a/
1953
(C'c3ntinued)
a. Excluding exports.
b. CIA estimate.
c. CIA estimate, roughly calculated on allowance of one-fourth ton
per capita for urban areas, with less or no allowance for rural areas
more readily accessible to wood lots.
d. 35/
e. Averaged from many reports. 36/
f. Based on 19+8 reported figures. 37/
g. Based on an assumed consumption of approximately 15 percent of total
Sakhalin Island consumption.
h. Including coal made into coke at mines 38/ and coal used in lead
and zinc smelters. 39/
i. Balance of estimated total consumption remaining after allotting
tonnages shown for Groups 1 and 2.
Because of the relatively close proximity of most consuming centers
to coal mining areas, the fact that much of the coal is subject to
spontaneous combustion or quickly deteriorates in storage, and the
evident ability of the railroad to supply adequate transportation ser-
vice, it seems likely that the stocking of reserve supplies at the
plants is limited to amounts necessary to tide them over seasonal
interferences with normal deliveries.
The principal ports for the transshipment of coal on Sakhalin
Island are on the west coast, facing the mainland across the Straits
of Tatar. Prominent among them are Mgachi, Aleksandrovsk, and
Makar'yevka (Due) in North Sakhalin; and Boshnyakovo (Nishi Sakutan),
Krasnogorsk, Shaktersk, and Uglegorsk in South Sakhalin. Because of
severe weather conditions the season of navigation is short, averaging
about 170 calendar days to northern Sports and about 200 days to
southern ports. L+0/
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The mines serving these ports with coal are located short distances
inland from the shore, and the coal moves to the beaches in shuttle ser-
vice over narrow-gage trolley lines operated by the mine managements. 41/
Although loading into vessels is possible only during the short navi-
gation season, the mines must be kept in operation throughout the year.
It is not feasible to operate them in the summer and close them in the
winter and furthermore, their winter production as well as their.
summer production is needed to supply all the coal required for vessel
loading. During the winter season when the ports are closed the daily
mine production accumulates in storage areas at or near the mines or at
the ports to await summer loading. 42/
Amounts in storage vary from time to time and from port to port
depending upon the producti*ity of the mines, the size of the ports,
the availability of vessels, and the capacity and efficiency of port
facilities and services for loading them. At the close of navigation
in September or October the amount in storage is comparatively small.
It increases month by month until the peak is reached in late March or
in early April.
Although figures are not available on the amount in storage when
the 1953 navigation season opened in April, it is believed to have
approximated 440,000 tons. From an estimated 40,000 tons stored in
October 1952, it would have grown at the rate of approximately 80,000
tons per month through March 1953. In April 1953, probably no more
than 40,000 tons would have been added to the storage pile.
V. Conclusions.
The ambitious program of economic development for the USSR as a
whole, promulgated in the current Five Year Plan, was to be supported
by a progressively increasing production of coal from Soviet mines,
which by 1955 would be 43 percent greater than the production of
1950. 43/ Region XII could reasonably be expected to participate in
and provide its share of the planned increase in volume of industrial
production of steel, cement, electric power, chemicals, machinery and
equipment, and many varieties of consumer goods, the importance of
which was emphasized by Malenkov in his speech of 9 August 1953 before
the Supreme Soviet. This increased industrial activity would naturally
result in increased consumption of coal. It is thought that there
would be little change in the distribution patterns.
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The Trans-Siberian Railroad in Region XII is such a vital link
between the coal mines of that region and the consumers dependent
upon the output of those mines that any interference with continued
operation of the railroad could have a serious collateral effect
upon industrial operations located along its lines.
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ESTIMATED DISTRIBUTION OF COAL TC) SPECIFIC CONSUMER GROUPS
IN REGION XII
1953
Komsomol'sk
Khabarovsk
Blagoveshchensk
Kuybyshevka-Vostochnaya
Bureya
Birobidzhan
Obluch'ye
Teploye Ozero
Nikolayevsk
Magadan
Petropavlovsk
Kraskino
Vladivostok
Nakhodka
Manzovka
Spassk-Dal'niy
Lesozavodsk
Guberovo
Railroad
Fuel *
Thermal
Electric
Power J
Cement J
Ferrous
Metals J
Space
Heating b
220
450
70
195
130
370
360
60
o
180
0
110
0
0
30
110
15
0
0
15
50
10
0
0
10
185
40
0
0
25
185
20
0
0
15
0
0
135
0
15
0
85
0
0
10
0
20
0
5
40
0
60
0
0
10
30
0
0
0
10
180
235
0
0
180
30
40
0
0
10
150
15
0
15
15
80
40
5
3] 4
0
0
0
15
15
200
0
0
0
0
140
60
140
60
70
130
250
100
220
30
150
50
95
30
65
85
70
130
40
10
595
2,205
80
120
200 195 5
500 459 41
150 100 50
200 200 0
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Balance
Total
Available
Available Total for
Tonnage Distributed Other Uses
2,500 1,065 1,435
2,000 970 1,030
2o0
200
200
350
250
200
125
150
200
50
2,800
200
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ESTIMATED DISTRIBUTION OF COAL TO SPECIFIC CONSUMER GROUPS
IN REGION XII
1953
(Continued)
Balance
Thermal Total Available
Railroad Electric Ferrous Space Available Total for
Consuming Areas Fuel a/ Power / Cement Metals a Heating Tonnage Distributed Other Uses
0 54 0 0 15 115 69 46
vk
meno
a
S
e
Tetyukhe 15 0 0 0 15 50
Mull 20 10 0 0 10 60
Sovetskaya Gavan' 0 110 0 0 10 125
Vanino 15 0 0 0 5 30
Sakhalin Island 160 273 0 0 159 1,782
All Other Areas 765 1,080 0 0 380 2,675
2,855 3,032 579 215 1,319 15,312
30
20
40
20
120
5
20
10
592
1,190
2,225
450
81000
7,312
a. CIA estimate.
b. Calculated on the basis of approximately one-fourth ton per capita.
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APPENDIX B
METHODOLOGY
Basic and current regional production data were derived by applying
Soviet percentage data for recent years from various sources to the
production figures for 1950. 44/ Detailed producing field data were
estimated primarily from analysis and compilation of a large number of
reports on individual mines during 1948-49, and a scant supply of
percentage data released by the USSR. The analyzed data from reports
were used to establish the proportional breakdown of the regional
figures from the individual producing mine basis. This breakdown was
projected into the regional production data of current years witn
modifications as required by Soviet percentage data and other current
Soviet information obtained from such sources as Soviet technical and
other publications.
Sakhalin Island production figures were calculated in part from a
comprehensive Japanese report 45/ on the coal industry in South
Sakhalin (Karafuto) as it developed during their occupation of that
area. This was modified and made current by reports of conditions
existing after control of the area passed to the USSR in 1945 and by
analysis of Soviet statements in press and radio on mining conditions
and achievements.
The estimate of imports from Manchuria was calculated in part from
reports that in 1949 daily shipments of 2,000 tons were being made to
Vladivostok from Ching-Hsing Mine on the Chinese - Chang-ch'un Rail-
road in Manchuria, and that in 1950 "large quantities" of coal from
the Mu-ling Mine -- also in Manchuria on the Chinese - Chang-ch'un
Railroad -- were sent to the USSR through the Pogranichnoye Station
(Sui-fen-ho) .
The Fu-shun Mine in Manchuria also was reported to be shipping
coal to the USSR. Between 1 August and 15 December 1951, 65,000 tons
were reportedly shipped on a contract for 200,000 tons, and shipments
were continuing at the rate of 400 tons per day. 46/
If shipments continued from all three mines without interruption
in continuity, annual tonnages could easily exceed 1 million tons.
It is believed unlikely that such continuity of shipment could be
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maintained, and in the absence of any definite information it is assumed
that 500,000 tons more nearly represents the tonnage actually imported
in 1953.
In estimating the amount of coal stored at transshipment ports on
Sakhalin Island, an average daily volume of production of the mine
serving those ports was calculated primarily from reports for the years
1946-48. 47/ This figure was then adjusted to reflect subsequent
developments in the Sakhalin coal mining industry as a whole.
After allowing for local consumption, the maximum average daily
volume of production available for vessel loading was determined to be
approximately 3,075 tons. Of this amount31,300 tons per day would come
from mines serving the northern ports, and 1,775 tons from mines serving
the southern ports.
Excluding Sundays, the number of production days during the 1953
season of navigation was 140 in the north and 165 in the south. The
combined maximum summer production would approximate 475,000 tons.
This would be 443,000 tons less than the amount needed to supply the
700,000 tons for Soviet use and the 217,745 tons exported to Japan.
The deficit would have to be supplied from coal in storage. This
would be accumulated by adding to any tonnage remaining at the close
of the previous navigation season the daily mine production. The number
of mine working days during the 1952-53 winter season was 160 at northern
mines and 135 at southern mines. Using the summer rate or daily pro-
duction, the maximum production available for storage would approximate
440,000 tons.
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GAPS IN INTEJLIGENCE
The following gaps in intelligence are listed in their order of
importance:
1. The amount of coal consumed by individual plants in Region XII.
2. The amount of coal in working inventories or in State Reserves.
3. The amount of coal imported into Region XII from Manchuria.
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APPENDIX D
SCURCES AND EVALUATION OF SOURCES
1. Evaluation of Sources.
The most important and reliable source of information used in com-
piling this report was the data from FBIS. Next in order of reliability
were the reports emanating from the Far East Command. The US Strategic
Bombing Survey provided valuable and generally reliable material.
Prisoner-of-war reports, although sketchy, offered some reliable con-
firming information.
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