Operations halted at Czech Bílina mine because of activists; police at scene

Severočeské doly, which is part of the ČEZ Group, halted operations at the Bílina mine after activists climbed onto an excavator. Seven activists from the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany occupied it this morning while it was operating. Company spokesperson Lukáš Kopecký told the Czech News Agency (ČTK). Police are at the scene and have called on the activists to leave the giant machine. Ilona Gazdošová, a spokesperson for the Teplice police, told ČTK.

Seven people occupied a bucket-wheel excavator between 3:00 and 4:00 in protest against the extension of mining operations, which the District Mining Authority has approved for Severočeské doly until 2035. The open-pit brown coal mine lies on the border between the Most and Teplice districts.

„We halted operations at the mine for safety reasons, called the police and contacted the mining authority,“ Kopecký said.

According to him, the activists’ unauthorized entry onto the giant machine is causing the company financial losses. It is not yet clear how much they will amount to. That will depend on how long the activists occupy the excavator, he said. „We cannot carry out our work,“ the spokesperson stressed.

Police received a report at 3:30. „Officers are at the scene, calling on the individuals to leave the area,“ Gazdošová said. Once the police have identified them, the District Mining Authority will deal with the offense. „There is absolutely no doubt that the activists entered the mining area without authorization, where the mining company extracts brown coal. This is an offense,“ Bohuslav Machek, a spokesperson for the mining authority, told ČTK. The activists will therefore face a fine from the mining authority. However, identifying them is difficult, Machek noted. Activists usually paint their faces and coat their fingers with glue, making the police’s job harder.

Greenpeace has appealed against the permit to extend mining. The organization has long criticized plans to mine until 2035, calling them a climate crime. „Ahead of the ČEZ Group’s annual general meeting, we want to draw attention to the climate crime that is looming at the Bílina brown coal mine,“ said Jaroslav Bican, speaking on behalf of the environmental organization. According to him, Severočeské doly has applied for an extension of mining with no time limit. „This means mining could continue into the 2040s. Yet no one is addressing the impact the coal extracted will have on the climate. We are calling on ČEZ to abandon its plan to extend mining at Bílina,“ he added.

Activists have staged similar protests several times before. For example, in June 2021 they occupied two overburden excavators at the Bílina coal mine in the Teplice district and the Nástup Tušimice mine in the Chomutov district. The group climbed down from the giant machine at Bílina that afternoon, while four people left the excavator in the Chomutov district the following morning.