On the night from Saturday to Sunday, the last hard coal mine ČSM in the village of Stonava near the Polish border ceased operations, local publication Novinky reports. The closure of ČSM marks the end of nearly 250 years of underground coal mining in northeastern Czech Republic.
The company OKD, the only producer of hard coal in the Czech Republic, is reducing its workforce: on January 31, 750 employees will be laid off, and by February 28, another 150, primarily workers from the processing plant. The symbolic last wagon of coal is planned to be raised on February 4.
"They will mine coal for the last time from a depth of 1300 meters. After this shift, the machines in the last seam will stop," said OKD spokesperson Barbora Černá Dvořáková.
The company will pay severance compensation to the laid-off workers amounting to over 500 million crowns. On average, this is equivalent to 11 months' salary, depending on seniority. For those who have not yet reached retirement age, a voluntary program is in place to help find employment or start their own business.
The ČSM mine has been in operation since December 1968. Over 57 years, it has extracted nearly 124.3 million tons of coal – an average of more than 2 million tons per year. The best year was 2012, when production reached a record 2.87 million tons.
"The Czech Republic is no longer dependent on hard coal for energy, and the number of clients for coking coal can be counted on one hand, with very limited supply prospects. The reserves left underground are no longer economically or technically feasible to extract, and due to the long absence of mining schools, we are unable to replenish qualified personnel," said OKD CEO Roman Sikora.
