DIARY
DATES
6
|
World Coal
|
June 2016
Coaltrans Anthracite and Coking Coal
20 – 21 June 2016
Hong Kong
Hillhead 2016
28 – 30 June 2016
Buxton, UK
XVIII International Coal Preparation Congress
28 June – 1 July 2016
St. Petersburg, Russia
icpc-2016.com
Coaltrans Korea
14 – 15 July 2016
Seoul, South Korea
Coaltrans Australia
25 – 26 August 2016
Sydney, Australia
Electra Mining Africa 2016
12 – 16 September 2016
Johannesburg, South Africa
MINExpo 2016
26 – 28 September 2016
Las Vegas, USA
Coaltrans Japan
29 – 30 September 2016
Tokyo, Japan
World Coal Leaders Network
16 – 18 October 2016
Lisbon, Portugal
World Mining Congress
18 – 21 October 2016
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
IMARC
7 – 11 November 2016
Melbourne, Australia
imarcmelbourne.com
COAL-GEN 2016
13 – 15 November 2016
Orlando, USA
Coal News
Coal News
E
nvironmental activists shut down the
Welzow-Süd lignite mine last month
and significantly impacted operations at
the associated Schwarze Pumpe power
plant in Lusatia, east Germany. The
protests were organised by a group called
Ende Gelände and included protestors
from a number of countries.
Protestors arrived at the mine on the
afternoon of Friday 13 May and occupied
the site, with some chaining themselves to
a coal excavator, forcing the mine to shut
down operations, Peter Stedt, Vattenfall
Press Officer, told
World Coal
. The rail
transport link between the mine and
power plant and a coal storage area were
also occupied.
At around 4:30 PM on 14 May,
protestors also broke through the entrance
gate at the Schwarze Pumpe plant, Stedt
said, although they were quickly removed
by police with 120 activists arrested. Those
arrested were later released. As a result of
the protests, the company was forced to
reduce operations at the power plant,
prioritising heat supply to the nearby
villages of Spremberg and Hoyerswerda.
The occupation lasted until around
3 PM on 15 May, Stedt continued, when
most of the protestors left the site,
although those chained to the excavator
remained until early morning on 16 May.
Mine operations had resumed by 6 AM
that morning, despite damage to the mine
excavator and coal storage area.
“I want to thank our employees for
their considerate behaviour in these
difficult circumstances,” said the Head of
Vattenfall Europe Mining and Vattenfall
Europe generation, Dr Hartmuth Zeiss, in
a statement. “Thanks to this, further
escalation could be avoided.”
The protests took place despite
warnings that the planned actions would
expose protestors and Vatenfall employees
to “immense risks”.
“These are heavy industry premises,
which imply heavy vehicles, electrical
equipment and other dangers,” said Anne
Gynnerstedt, Vattenfall’s General
Counsellor responsible for security ahead
of the protests. “Activists who intrude into
the area take immense risks and expose
themselves and our employees to serious
dangers.”
The Welzow-Süd mine and Schwarze
Pumpe power plant are included in the
sale of Vattenfall’s lignite assets to the
Czech company, Energetický a prumyslový
(EPH), agreed as part of Vattenfall’s
strategy to convert to renewable and other
low-carbon energy production. The deal is
still pending approval by the Swedish
state.
EPH already owns lignite assets in
Germany through its MIBRAG subsidiary,
which operates the Profen and Vereinigten
Schleenhain opencast mines with
production of more than 20 million tpy. Its
proposed acquisition would add
Vattenfall’s lignite operations to its
portfolio. The Swedish company’s lignite
operations are the second largest in
Germany and currently employ about
8000 people. In addition to the
Welzow‑Süd mine and Schwarze Pumpe
power plant, the operations include
mines at Jänschwalde, Nochten and
Reichwalder, as well as the power plants
at Jänschwalde and Boxberg. The
company also owns one unit at the
Lippendorf power plant, which EPH
already supplies from the
Vereinigten Schleenhain mine.
Under the terms of the agreement, EPH
will take on €3.4 billion of assets and
€2 billion of liabilities and provisions,
including those for decommissioning and
recultivation. In addition, Vattenfall will
provide about €1.7 billion in cash as part of
the transaction. The deal is expected to
close in 3Q16.
GERMANY
Activists occupy German lignite mine
