Karaganda basin is located on the area of the same name and in the center of this region. Carbon coal-content area occupies the land of about 2000 km2 at the total thickness 4000m. Four synclines are notable in the basin: Tentek, Sherubainur, Karaganda and Verkhnesokursk, first three of them make an industrial part of basin and are studied full enough up to the depths 700- 1300m.

Productive sediments are represented by Ashlyarik , Karaganda, Dolinsk and Tentek series which contain up to 30 coal seams with the total working thickness 40m, coal ash content varies within the limits of 10-35 % with the tendency of reduction upwards the section. The most-widely spread are coals of types from hvBb to mvb. Karaganda basin is considered as a high gas content and gas content seams intensively grow from the beginning of methane zone up to 400-500m reaching 15-20 m3/t, and are more stabilized on the depth within the limits of 22-27 m3/t. Gas weathering zone depth varies within the limits of 60-250 m.

Total coal resources of basin up to the depth of 1800m were estimated at 41.3 billion tons and are maintained by 11 mines 8 of which belong to “Ispat Karmet“ OJSC. Karaganda coal basin is the most perspective from the view of conformity to requirements of above-mentioned criteria. The depth of methane zone surface in the basin varies over the range of 60- 250m and depends on geologic-structural features on each definate site. Methane content of seams rises sharply with the deepening from the methane zone surface to 400-500m (from 0 to 15-20 m3/t) then the growth rate sharply decreases, and at the depth of 800 1800m it amounts 22-27 m3/t. Average concentration (density) of methane resources in Karaganda basin estimated at 275 million m3/km2, and in the series of prospecting sites - 400- 700 million m3/km2.

ArcelorMittal Temirtau acquired 15 coal mines in 1996 in the Karaganda Coal Basin region (all deep mines in the region). These mines were restructured into eight captive coal mines: Kostenko, Kuzembaev, Saranskaya, Abaiskaya, Kazakhstanskaya, Lenina, Shaktanskaya, and Tentekskaya. These coal mines are all underground mines that use the retreat longwall mining method.

All mines are connected to the main railway, and coal is transported by railway to the coal wash plants and power stations.

The mines produce primarily coking coal used for steelmaking at Temirtau and thermal coal for ArcelorMittal Temirtau’s power plants. For beneficiation of coking coal, two washeries are operated—one located near several of the coal mines and the other at the ArcelorMittal Temirtau steel plant(CPP “Vostochnaya” and Temirtau Washery-2). Surplus coal is supplied to group steel plants, mainly ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih, Ukraine.