Two hundred years of active coal mining in Germany came to an end on 21st December 2018 (Figure 1). The Franz Haniel shaft in Bottrop saw the very last lump of coal brought to the surface. Over 500 guests and guests of honour, including President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, and Minister-President of North ...
Read More »News In Brief 01_2019
Ibbenbüren exits the coal industry
“This mine has played a significant part in writing the history of the German coal mining industry,” stressed Peter Schrimpf, CEO at RAG and Chair of the Supervisory Board at RAG Anthrazit Ibbenbüren GmbH. His comments were made at the “Final skip” ceremony held on 4th December 2018 at the von Oeynhausen shaft to mark the closure of the Ibbenbüren ...
Read More »Candlelight concert at Rheinpreußen shaft IV to mark the end of the coal mining industry
21st December 2018 was the day that the German coal mining era came to an end in the Ruhr region. In honour of the occasion, a ceremony was held at the Prosper-Haniel mine in Bottrop, bringing around 200 years of history to a close. For over 100 of these, the industry was a defining influence both on the lives of ...
Read More »Demolition work at the Luisenthal mine surface facility progresses
RAG Montan Immobilien GmbH, Essen/Germany, is conducting reclamation work on the site of the former Luisenthal mine on behalf of RAG Aktiengesellschaft. In the presence of representatives from politics and the town council, as well as a large crowd of residents, further demolition work officially got under way on 15th November 2018 (Figure 1). In collaboration with the town of ...
Read More »STEAG Energy Services enlisted to decommission a Swiss nuclear power plant
STEAG Energy Services GmbH (SES), Essen/Germany, has been enlisted jointly with Kraftanlagen Heidelberg to dismantle the core internals of the reactor vessel within the Mühleberg nuclear power plant (KKM) in Switzerland. The power station (Figure 1), situated 14 km to the west of Bern, is operated by BKW, an energy and infrastructure company with a presence in the global arena. ...
Read More »Manufacturers of mining equipment expect turnover to increase by 12 %
For German manufacturers of mining equipment, the domestic market now only plays a minor role in their business plans, with a total turnover expected to decline by 22 % to 90 M€ in 2018. According to Michael Schulte Strathaus (Figure 1), Chairman of VDMA Mining, Frankfurt M./Germany, the current policies demonstrate little affinity to the business of raw materials, and therefore ...
Read More »bauma 2019: Sustainability in mining as an opportunity
Sustainability is absolutely the trend topic today, in mining as well. The focus extends well beyond the areas of energy consumption and the use of resources. All industries are currently searching for alternative, low-priced and environmentally friendly raw materials and energy sources. Global discussions and technology transfers are the key factors in efforts to successfully encourage sustainability in mining. bauma 2019 ...
Read More »Fundación Chile and AHK Chile sign a mining technology transfer agreement
An agreement was signed during the German-Chilean Business Forum 2018 to facilitate innovation and technology transfer between providers in Germany and customers in Chile. AHK Chile and Fundación Chile’s innovation program “Expande” aim to provide a point of contact for commercial exchanges (Figure 1). To this end, AHK Chile will provide a network of contacts with the German industry and ...
Read More »“We cleaned up. We were the last ones standing.”
27th October 2018: Forty years ago to the day, the “final tonne of ore” was mined at the Lüderich pit, the last remaining mine in the Bensberg ore mining district. A total of around 10 Mt of ore were brought to the surface between 1852 and 1978. Previously a heavily agricultural region, the focus shifted to the mining industry, which ...
Read More »