Coal production resumes in Tamnava West Field

Coal production resumes in Tamnava West Field

LAZAREVAC -- Coal is being mined again in the Tamnava - West Field (Zapadno polje) strip mine, "the most significant open pit of the Kolubara mining basin," Tanjug reported.

This section of the mine was flooded in May.

The production restarted in the presence of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who said that the Serbian energy system will be stable and that there will be no restrictions.

Seven months after the catastrophic flooding, we managed to restore production, and today West Field started its daily production of 10,000 tons, Vucic said, adding that the estimates were that this would be possible in April next year.

Vucic said that the restored production will provide additional security to the Serbian energy system in the coming winter, and added that there will be no increase in electricity prices.

There is still water in the pit, so far 135 million cubic meters of water have been pumped out, and there is still around 50 million, he said.

Once this is done, and it is believed that it will happen late in April or early in May, the production will be restored completely, the prime minister said.

Vucic said that coal is Serbia's black gold and that its production is immensely important for the industry.

"This is significant for the GDP growth, because nothing can increase our GDP as much as mining and coal production," said Vucic, and expressed hope that the production of coal in open pits in 2015 will increase compared to 2013.

All four Kolubara pits produced a total of 30.7 million tons of coal in 2013, 14.6 million tons of which came from the Tamnava -West Field.

During the May floods,...