The czech republic they finish mining coal. At the border with Poland, at the CzSM plant in Stonawa belonging to the Ostrava-Karwińskie Mines (OKD), the last wagon of hard coal was extracted. The ceremony, also attended by Polish miners from Alpex, officially ended almost 250 years of coal mining in the Czech Republic.
The event gathered hundreds of people, including many Poles who had been an important part of the mine's staff for years. A stage with a large screen was prepared on the square in front of the shaft, enabling the broadcast to all participants.
During the official part, a speech by the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, was played, expressing appreciation for the work of miners and emphasizing the hardship that mine workers have faced for decades.
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Polish miners symbolically end their 250-year history
According to Karel Blahut, manager of the CzSM mine, the last wagon of coal from seam 463 204/1 was prepared by a team of the Polish company Alpex under the leadership of chief foreman Krzysztof Miedziński. Before the wagon reached the surface, representatives of OKD authorities attached commemorative ribbons to the banners of mining associations from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.
Hard coal was discovered in Silesian Ostrava in 1763. In the early 1990s, 100,000 people worked to obtain this raw material. people.
The CzSM mine was the last active mine in the Czech Republic and at the same time the youngest in the Ostrava-Karviná region. The first cart of coal left it on December 19, 1968, from a depth of 570 m. In recent years, mining was carried out at a level of 1,300 m. In total, by January 31, 2024, when the plant's operations were ended, 124.3 million tons of coal were extracted there.
See also: Coal consumption remains stable. By 2030 it may decline slightly
150 miners will lose their jobs. This is not the end
The process of closing the mine was associated with a gradual reduction in employment. Another 150 miners will lose their jobs on February 28. After this date, several hundred people will remain at the plant and will be responsible for dismantling equipment, decommissioning mine workings and managing methane.
On Wednesday afternoon, a service for victims of mining disasters was held in the Cathedral of the Divine Savior in Ostrava. One of the disasters at CzSM took place on December 20, 2018. A methane explosion occurred at a depth of 880 m. 13 miners died – 12 Poles and one Czech.
“The sun has risen for the last time, announcing the death of mining”
During the artistic part of the ceremony, mining songs and songs were sung by the Permonik children's choir from Karvina. One of the miners who had been associated with the industry in Poland and the Czech Republic for years read his poem in Polish.
“There is no time to settle the past by the number of tones mined. The sun has already risen for the last time, announcing the death of mining. Friendships and acquaintances wither, a handshake will no longer warm them up. A crowd of only invited guests will hear the bell finish ringing. What nostalgia, what smile, what will disappear and what will last? No signs will predict it anymore. A tear will glisten in the miner's eye. After age, age slowly dragged on, and finally with a thunderclap. fall. Although it will hurt at the beginning, it will last, losing memory. And so history continues, it will take away what the earth has given. But nothing will surprise us anymore, we will live in what is not there,” the Polish accent echoed at the ceremony.
