Abstract <p>The economic condition of Russian coal companies is considered. The causes of recent problems are outlined. The scale of potential losses at mining companies due to sanctions, which disrupt prior logistical patterns, is determined. The need to identify and take account of the industry’s environmental hazards and loss of income is established. Not only financial risks but also engineering and organizational losses in coal extraction and processing are inevitable. That necessitates the study of key economic indicators for Russian coal companies. It is clear that economic indicators must be developed for coal companies and standardized within the framework of uniform organizational documentation regarding industrial and accounting policies. By studying the economic returns for priority products at the largest Russian coal companies, the prospects for economic entities to process coking coal and lignite and to produce anthracite and thermal coal are compared. Risks are viewed through the prism of five approaches to assessing and regulating economic losses: technological, professional, energy, commercial, and fiscal (tax) risks. Means of minimizing the losses in each category must be adapted to the actual processes of mining and processing coal and obtaining the final product, taking account of industrial and environmental safety requirements.</p>