Innovative Technological Potential as the Basis of Mining Regions Sustainable Development in the Era of Knowledge

The increasing role of human capital, knowledge and high technology indicates the formation of a new stage of economic development – the knowledge economy, from which innovation becomes an integral part of business. However, in terms of innovation development, Russia lags behind the western countries several times. At the same time, the development of Russian regions is extremely uneven. First, it concerns mining regions. For analysis, a key mining cluster of Russian Federation was chosen – Kemerovo Region. The article assesses the innovative potential of the region, and identifies the most pressing problems that impede its integration into the knowledge economy. Solving existing problems should be carried out through a set of measures aimed at developing partnerships of government, mining science and mineral resources extracting business, creating conditions for attracting and retaining highly qualified specialists to the mining enterprises, creating an appropriate infrastructure, increasing the region’s investment attractiveness, developing interregional and international cooperation in the field of subsoil extracting management.