ABSTRACT
Georgia energy crisis started with the collapse of the Soviet era. Today, the country is fully depended on imported natural gas. The energy policy has to be reconsidered. This study explores the possibilities for the coal market in Georgia and presents a model for moderate coal exploitation based on coal demand and coal cost for a 15 year period. The hard competition with natural gas from nearby Azerbaijan shows that coal cost should remain below 30 $/tons. Potential users of local coal are the cement industries (70,000 t/a), manganese metallurgy (20,000 t/a) household heating (50,000 t/a) and brick manufacturing (10,000 t/a). Therefore, coal exploitation can only be justified if power generation is incorporated. The existing underground mines in Tkibuli area can support a 200 MW power plant along with all other nonelectrical demand at a minimum coal cost of $28/ton.
