Czech ČSM mine prepares to end mining and decommissioning, OKD has CZK 3.3 billion

The ČSM mine in Stonava, in the Karviná region, is preparing to end hard coal mining in several weeks and for subsequent decommissioning. Technical decommissioning will take around three years and will begin immediately after mining ends. OKD has set aside CZK 3.3 billion for it. OKD spokeswoman Barbora Černá Dvořáková told ČTK today.

The ČSM mine, with its North and South operations, is the last active hard coal mine in the Czech Republic. Coal has been mined there for almost half a century.

"During the existence of the ČSM mine, 1,100 kilometres of mine workings have been created here. That is equivalent to the distance from Stonava to Paris, for example. At present, however, only around 52 kilometres of workings remain operational," said OKD operations director David Hájek.

The workings must be sealed after mining ends with so-called bulkheads, of which there will be 87.

"The aim of the mine's technical decommissioning is its permanent and safe closure after mining ends, so that people, property and the environment are not endangered, mine workings are stabilised, and a controlled regime for water, gases and ground subsidence is ensured," Hájek said.

He explained that technical decommissioning includes the environmentally sound disposal of equipment used in the mine, the safe closure of all horizontal and inclined mine workings, the closure of shafts, which are vertical mine workings, and the demolition of surface facilities. The entire process is approved by the mining authority, while the application for approval of the decommissioning already had to include details of individual projects and expert assessments. "During the work, the mining authority will check during regular inspections whether we are meeting everything stated in the documentation," Hájek said.

OKD will decommission two of the ČSM mine's four shafts using loose backfill. "This means that the shaft will be filled with certified aggregate and sealed in the surface section with a concrete plug, known as a shaft-collar plug," the director said. The company will use 180,000 tonnes of material to backfill the shafts.

"The other two shafts will serve as gas collectors for future extraction of mine gas, its drainage and the prevention of unwanted escape to the surface. These shafts will be sealed at a certain depth with a concrete shaft plug, the space below it will remain open for gas collection, and the space above the plug will be filled to the surface with a cement-fly ash mixture," the director said.

For decommissioning the underground sections, OKD will use its own specialist teams and machinery, while it will hire external companies for surface demolitions. "We will sort and recycle demolition materials and offer them for secondary use. These are mainly scrap metal, non-ferrous metals, and recycled concrete and brick, which can be used in construction. Material that cannot be used in this way will be handed over to specialist companies for disposal," Hájek described the demolition process.

According to the plan, the decommissioning of the ČSM mine should be completed at the turn of 2028 and 2029. "We have created a financial reserve of CZK 3.3 billion for technical decommissioning, which is held in a restricted account, and even withdrawals from this account are subject to approval by the mining authority," Hájek said.

OKD is the only producer of hard coal in Czechia. In previous years, the company ended mining at its other mines because it had long ceased to be profitable, and it will now close the ČSM mine as well. The state owns the company through Prisko.