Grcic: Serbia will have enough coal this winter

BELGRADE - Serbia will have enough coal from the Kolubara open pit mines this winter, and the coal mining process could be made more difficult by heavy snow and low temperatures, but it will not be jeopardized, Kolubara Director Milorad Grcic told Tanjug.

Numerous activities were carried out in Kolubara to prepare for the winter season, we could be looking at more difficult operating conditions, but this cannot affect the output to a significant extent, said Grcic, adding that in view of the massive damage that the mines sustained in the May flooding, the thermal power system can be regarded as stable.

Kolubara's daily coal output has now reached 75,000 tons, compared to around 90,000 tons of lignite that were shipped daily to power plants in regular conditions, when there was no flood damage, he said.
"Kolubara has achieved a steady output and I am convinced that we will restore pre-flood production levels in 2015," said Grcic.

The Kolubara coal is used to generate some 50 percent of power in the country, and every fourth light bulb in Serbia is lit owing to the lignite mined in the Tamnava - Zapadno polje pit which was flooded in May and where the production resumed just days ago, he said.

The water level was reduced by 24 meters in order to reach the layers of coal, he said.

After the May flooding, no pit in the Kolubara mine was operational, but very soon Fields B and D were put into serve so as to achieve coal production of 45,000 tons a day, he said.

Great efforts were made to enable the operation of the Veliki Crljeni pit, and the coal production increased by additional 20,000 tons a day, which then resulted in a total of 65,000 tons a day, he noted, adding that the latest start of...