RAG Aktiengesellschaft

In the presence of Federal Ministers Peter Altmaier and Heiko Maas, the new RAG representative office – a communications centre in a former machine hall – and the Saarpolygon landmark – a 30 m tall steel sculpture – have been opened in mid-September at the Duhamel plant in Ensdorf/Germany (Figures 1, 2). Peter Schrimpf, Vice Chairman of RAG Aktiengesellschaft, Herne/Germany, welcomed around 600 guests to the ceremony.

The decommissioning of the coal mining industry on 30th June 2012 saw the dawn of a new era in the Saar which aims to create new prospects for former mining sites as an alternative to coal production. “This has already been successful in many locations: Innovative companies are relocating to mining areas, new industrial estates and residential areas are being built, solar plants on these sites are now generating green energy instead of non-renewable, with wind farms to follow shortly,” clarifies Peter Schrimpf. He added that RAG continues to bear responsibility for the region in the post-mining era. This included mining relics such as damage caused by mining, old tunnels and shafts or surface mining from the early days of the industry. In order to create new prospects, shafts have to be filled, surfaces restored, surface installations dismantled and the Mining Control Authority disbanded. According to him, the Saar mine water concept for optimising water retention is another key element.

The new RAG representative office has transformed a historic machine hall in the Saar into a place of cooperation and communication, for meeting and dialogue in Ensdorf. The Saarpolygon stands as another symbol of change and awakening at the heart of the celebration, emphasised Schrimpf. The “audacious project” is said to be unparalleled around the world. The construction project was only made possible thanks to the financial support of the Saarland, the RAG and the RAG-Stiftung, as well as donations from private individuals and companies. Schrimpf paid special thanks to the friends’ association, BergbauErbeSaar, for its outstanding commitment to realising the work of art on the 150 m tall spoil tip.

Prime-Minister of the Saarland, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, underlined the symbolic importance of the Saarpolygon as a representation of the federal state’s mining heritage and creative structural change. “It should serve as a constant reminder of our roots, while also guiding us into the future. I would like to thank everyone who worked on this project and I hope that Saarlanders will take time to appreciate this new, walk-through landmark,” said Kramp-Karrenbauer.

The RAG-Stiftung provided a relatively large amount of funding at a very early stage, which allowed the Saarpolygon to be completed. Bärbel Bergerhoff-Wodopia, Member of the Board of Executives of the RAG-Stiftung, was equally impressed: “The polygon is multi-faceted in the truest sense. Not only does it stand for the legacy and commitment of miners, it will also remind us of the tasks that lie ahead in this changing region. The new RAG representative office will contribute towards tackling some of these tasks locally – as a place of exchange and mediation.”

Anke Rehlinger, Minister for Economic Affairs, Employment, Energy and Transport in Saarland, highlighted the following: “Mining has shaped our society and established values that we must not give up. Our mining heritage will live on thanks to the Saarpolygon. But it doesn’t end there. Now it is our job to convey the significance of this place not only as a symbol of tradition but also as a strong indication of change and the forward-looking nature of the Saarland. I am certain that the Saarpolygon will become a landmark for our federal state.” (RAG/Si.)

The North Rhine-Westphalian State Environment Minister, Johannes Remmel, summarised the results of a feasibility study for an underground pumped-storage power station at the Prosper-Haniel mine near the city of Bottrop in a few words: “Prosper-Haniel could be transformed from a mine into a power station and then into a battery”. He presented the first part of the study alongside Chairman of the Board at RAG Bernd Tönjes, Prof. Dr. André Niemann from the University of Duisburg-Essen, Prof. Dr. Hermann-Josef Wagner from the Ruhr University in Bochum and Manager of the Prosper-Haniel mine Jürgen Kroker. The Minister awarded a grant notification to the sum of 850,000 € from the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for the second part of the study (Figure 1).

Prof. Niemann explained that the initial results were optimistic. “The coal mining industry has the infrastructure and expertise required for an underground pumped-storage reservoir,” emphasised Bernd Tönjes. The Mayor of Bottrop, Bernd Tischler, also added that a pumped-storage power station would dovetail extremely well with the Bottrop Innovation City project.

Thanks to the new grant notification, plans can now be drawn up for the specific suitability of Prosper-Haniel as an underground pumped-storage reservoir and framework conditions for its use. (RAG /Si.)

The research and development team at RAG Aktiengesellschaft, Herne/Germany, has been presented with the “Innovation through Research” seal of quality by the Association for the Promotion of Science and Humanities in Germany for its special commitment to research and development. The seal can be used until late 2017.

“Research and development have a long history at RAG. RAG is a technology driver in the international coal mining industry”, says Prof. Dr. Martin Junker, Head of Research and Development. He explained that the company investigated and tested numerous developments that were emerging internationally. The demanding geology of deposits in Germany, as well as the leading standards in occupational safety and environmental protection require continuous further technological development. According to him, this technology has a leading role to play on an international scale and serves as an example for mine operators worldwide. RAG works continuously on further developments and innovations, including in the field of post-mining.

To be eligible for the award, RAG documented its research activities and presented them to the association. The association was founded in 1920 in Berlin and is one of the largest private science and research funding institutions in Germany. Since the late 1960s the association has initiated its own funding programs in order to promote the further development of the science and research system. (RAG/Si.)

The second edition of Boldt/Weller’s commentary on mining law was published at the end of 2015. Published in 1982 at the time the Federal Mining Act came into effect, the first edition of this commentary has now been completely revised by Gunther Kühne and Hans-Ulrich von Mäßenhausen. The commentary has been written by experts with practical experience in mining law from the legal profession, relevant authorities and universities. Since the Federal Mining Act came into effect in 1982, the application of case law has led to considerable changes in the law itself. This is not always evident in the wording of the Federal Mining Act, which makes the publication of a current, extensive commentary on the Federal Mining Act now all the more significant.

Although the public often associates mining with coal mining, a wide variety of commercial activities in other industries are subject to the Federal Mining Act. The practical relevance of this law is therefore not to be underestimated. The new commentary will be of great assistance to companies, authorities, lawyers and courts. This commentary is the essential companion for practitioners in solving future issues in the field of mining law. Consequently, all those involved in the industry are indebted to the editors, the authors and the publisher for finally filling this gap in the canon of legal commentary in such a distinguished manner.

Review: Harald Knöchel, Head of Legal Services/Compliance at RAG Aktiengesellschaft, Herne, Germany.

On 1st January 2016, Bernd Tönjes, Chairman of the Management Board at RAG Aktiengesellschaft in Herne/Germany, became the moderator of the Initiativkreis Ruhr in Essen for a two-year term. This honorary post was previously held by Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Board at Evonik Industries AG, Essen, whose term of office ended at the end of the two-year cycle.

On 1st January 2016, Joachim Dutschke’s role as Head of the Commercial services division at RAG was handed over to his then deputy, Dirk Ostermann.

As part of the closing down of the German coal mining industry, the Auguste Victoria mine in Marl ceased to operate at the end of 2015 (Figure 1). This move means that there is now just one coal mine left in the Ruhr region of Germany and only two working coal mines in the entire country. It marks the end of 115 years of mining in Marl – an industry which has shaped the history of the region.

In the year prior to the mine’s closure, 2000 workers mined over 3 mt of coal – an amount significantly higher than the specified target. The mine’s workforce was at its largest back in 1957, when it numbered over 11,000 members of staff.

Bernd Tönjes, Chairman of the Board at RAG Aktiengesellschaft in Herne, outlined the challenges that the company is facing at the special event to commemorate the mining of the final layer on 18th December 2015. It is about to phase out coal mining in a socially responsible manner and increase awareness of the responsibility for mine reclamation beyond 2018 while at the same time working with structural change and preserving the cultural legacy of the coal mining industry. Tönjes specifically mentioned the fact that when the company was first founded as Ruhrkohle AG in 1968, over 230,000 workers were employed in around 60 mines throughout Germany. This number has now fallen to under 10,000.

With dignity and pride the miners at Auguste Victoria said good-bye to their mine, which served as the region’s economic powerhouse for many decades (Figure 2). Decommissioning work will start in 2016. RAG Aktiengesellschaft will also be working together with the region’s citizens and local authorities to rehabilitate the mined areas for reuse. (RAG/Si.)

Changes to the ground surface, securing underground cavities – topics that also play an important role in post-mining and which RAG Aktiengesellschaft, based in Herne (Germany), is taking on. For this purpose, they have been working with geoinformation technology (GIS) for 25 years. Starting as a system for specialists, the geoinformation system (GIS) has developed into an indispensable component of many business processes. The handling of mining subsidence damage, facilities management, risk management, former mining operations, and monitoring of the ground surface for active mining, as well as post-mining operations – all of these activities would no longer be possible without GIS.

Data collection in the millimetre range using sensors on satellites, aeroplanes, multicopters or on the ground provide the basis for geospatial analyses at the limits of what is technically feasible. This is the only way that today’s regulatory obligations and incidental provisions can be complied with.

Extensive digitalisation work has also led to the mining activities of the last 150 years in the Ruhr, Saar and Ibbenbüren territories being digitally documented in geoarchives and land registries, and therefore means that this information is always available in a flexible format for analysis and cartographic representations. (RAG/Si.)

 

On 4 March 2015 RAG submitted to the mining authorities a planning notification for the proposed increase in the mine water level in the Reden and Duhamel catchment areas. This marked the start of the approval procedure for phase I of the Saar Mine Water Drainage Concept. This provides for shutting down the Reden pumps and allowing the mine water level in the Reden area to rise by about 280 m from its current -600 m (below sea level) to -320 m in order to allow for an overflow into the Duhamel catchment area. At present the mine water from Reden flows into the Saar at Saargemünd via the Klinken­bach, Sinnerbach and Blies watercourses. Following implementation of phase I of the project these waterways would in future be free from mine water over a total distance of some 87 km. The mining authorities will now instigate a planning approval procedure, complete with environmental impact assessment and public consultation, in order to examine the effects that such measures will have on the local community and the environment. Phase I of the mine water concept can only be authorised provided there is no risk or danger posed by the proposed increase in mine water level. The approval process will last until 2016 at least. RAG intends to use the mine water drainage concept to meet its obligations under the Legacy Agreement for the long-term improvement of water drainage and management measures.

Mine water is created by rain water seeping into the ground and finding its way to lower levels via rock beds and fissures. Water flowing into mine shafts and underground roadways would normally make all mining operations impossible. For this reason collieries have to collect this water at a central point below ground, which is known as the sump, and then transfer it back up to the surface using a series of powerful pumps and a network of pipes. This operational requirement has no longer applied since mining operations in the Saar coalfield came to a halt.
RAG’s planning notification describes the project in every detail, along with any possible effects that it may have on man, cultural assets and property, soil, water, animals, plants and biodiversity, and on the landscape, climate and air. It also examines the interactions and interdependencies that exist between these protected resources.

If the mine water project is approved it will take more than three years for the water to rise by the proposed 280 m. At this point the mine water level will then still be some 500 m below the surface and so will be a sufficient distance away from the drinking water and groundwater horizons. RAG is taking nothing for granted and if, contrary to expectations, some degree of risk should appear, any further rise in the water level can be immediately halted at any time and at any height. RAG stresses that the protection of people and the environment takes clear precedence over any cost savings achieved through the discontinuance of pumping operations. And protecting drinking water in particular will take absolute priority over everything else.

The rise in mine water level provided-for in phase I is necessary simply to arrive at the initial situation, as assumed in the KPMG report, for calculating the eternity costs associated with dewatering and drainage measures in the German coal industry. Moreover, the parties to the Legacy Agreement, namely the RAG Foundation and the coalfield regions of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland, have engaged RAG to present new ideas for the ongoing long-term optimisation of water drainage that go beyond the KPMG report.

Phase II of the mine water drainage concept therefore provides for the closure of all remaining pumping facilities along the Saar river so that the level of the mine water can rise further until, in 2035, it reaches the surface at the lowest point in Ensdorf and so can be diverted into the Saar. This means that the Saar river would be completely free from mine water over a distance of some 40 km between Saargemünd and Ensdorf. Project phase II will therefore depend on a positive outcome from another independent planning approval procedure, complete with environmental impact assessment and public consultation.

At present, some 18 mill. m3 of mine water are pumped to the surface in the Saar coalfield every year. When all the pumps are operating together they consume as much electricity as 17,000 households. As RAG has pointed out, it is neither ecologically nor economically justifiable towards future generations to maintain these operations ‘in perpetuity’ unless there is an absolute operational requirement. (RAG AG/Si)

Dr Heinz Horn, who served from 1985 to 1994 as CEO of what was then Ruhrkohle AG and as president of the former Gesamt­verband des deutschen Steinkohlenbergbaus (GVSt) in Essen, died on 23 February 2015.

Rainer Kolligs, a mining consultant who served as chairman of the board at Ruhrkohle Niederrhein AG and, prior to that, at Bergbau AG Lippe, died on 24 February 2015.