Sev.en suspends coal mining in the Mostecko quarry. They will lay off 500 employees

Severní energetická suspends brown coal mining in the ČSA quarry in Mosteck. They will lay off approximately 500 employees. A decision on the termination of operations will be made in the coming months, said Eva Maříková, spokesperson for the Sev.en Česká energie group. Details are yet to be announced by the company.

The miners expected the closure of the ČSA quarry between 2024-2026. Mining of the ČSA quarry has been gradually reduced since 2015, when the government decided to maintain mining limits in this location. If there is a need for coal for the production of electricity or heat in the winter, the company is ready to partially resume operations, using employees from the second active quarry in the group.

The decision to suspend mining was made with regard to the situation in the energy sector, said the director of Severní energetické Petr Lenc. There are currently two 12-hour shifts downstairs, from June there will be only one eight-hour shift from Monday to Friday. Around 150 people will remain in the locality to provide security. Part of the technology will be transferred by the miners to the Vršany quarry, the rest will be disposed of.

Employees will receive severance pay of up to eight months’ salary, based on years of service. “The end of mining at ČSA has been long awaited, yet it is an emotional, sad and painful event. Whole generations have worked here. We managed to negotiate an above-standard severance pay with the employer. We have already negotiated a restructuring allowance with the government of the Czech Republic. So the family budgets of the dismissed miners should to manage the loss of job financially for some time,” said union leader Jaromír Franta. Miners cooperate with the regional labor office, local companies and municipalities, which have already shown interest in people who have work habits.

Controlled mining will end within the next few months. From May to July, the company will lay off 485 employees. Employees from jobs such as operational locksmith, electrician, driver, mechanic and other technical professions will be released.

Simultaneously with the cessation of mining, reclamation of the territory is being prepared. According to Lenka, 750 million tons of brown coal will remain behind the territorial mining limits set by the government in 1991. Large companies in Mostek, which fall under the Sev.en Česká energie group, now employ around 2,500 people. At the time of the largest mining, 30,000 people worked in mining in the region.

The residual pit will be transformed into a lake with a so-called balanced level, it would not be necessary to allow it to be so. According to the published plans, the lake could have an area of ​​around 670 hectares, so it will be roughly twice the size of the nearby Most lake. A balanced level means that the inflow and evaporation would be in balance. The lake will be used partly for recreation, but mainly for energy. The miners plan to install floating solar panels with a green hydrogen production plant on part of the water surface. The entire territory, over which the Jezeří castle rises, has an area of ​​5,000 hectares. Experts recommend leaving roughly 20 percent to nature as it decides, i.e. the so-called succession. Part of the territory is to become a national natural monument,

Interview for FLOW with economist Miroslav Singer: