Gacko Coal Mine
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Gacko Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Gacko, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Gacko Coal Mine | Gacko, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 43.1703038926539, 18.5100955002253 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating | – | 1982 | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 2.134[1] | 2022[1] | Surface | Open Pit | 40 | 50* | 872* |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 197[2] | – | 340[2] | – | Lignite | Thermal | Gacko Thermal Power Plant |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Rudnik I Termoelektrana Gacko AD | Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske AD | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)
| ROM or Saleable | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saleable | 2[1] | 2[1] | 2[1] | 2[1] | 2[1] | 2[1] | – |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.
Background
Gacko coal mine is a surface mine in Gacko, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The coal mine is operated by Rudnik i Termoelektrana Gacko that owns both the mine and the Gacko Thermal Power Plant. The company is part of Elektroprivreda Republike Sprske.[3]
The Gatački coal basin is located in the north-eastern part of Herzegovina. The basin is divided into four exploitation fields: Western, Central, Eastern and Southern. It covers an area of about 40 square kilometres and an altitude of about 940 m. In 1982, the "PK Gračanica" Gacko lignite mine was put into operation with capacity of 1.8 million tonnes a year to supply Gacko Thermal Power Plant.[4] (not to be confused with Gracanica coal mine). The surface mine "Gračanica" is located in the western area of the Gatački basin and is divided into exploitation fields A, B and C: coal mining has been completed in fields A and B and is taking place in field C, according to the company website.[5] Overburden disposal is carried out at the Western external landfill, as well as at the internal landfills of field A and B where coal mining has been completed.[5]
The annual capacity of the surface mine for coal exploitation is in line with the needs of Gacko Thermal Power Plant . Capacity of the mine is 2.2 million tonnes.[5]
Record coal production was recorded in 2017, when 2.7 million tonnes were produced.[4] Since the beginning of exploitation at the mine until 2020, a total of about 65 million tonnes of coal has been exploited.[4]
- Owner: Rudnik i Termoelektrana Gacko AD (RiTE Gacko)[5]
- Parent: Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske AD[3]
- Location: Gacko, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzergovina
- Coordinates: 43.1703038926539, 18.5100955002253 (exact)
- Status: Operating
- Production: 2.38 million tonnes (2021)[6], 2.135 million tonnes (2022)[6]
- Total Resource: 340 Mt[7]
- Total Reserves: 197 Mt[7]
- Coal Type: Lignite (Thermal)
- Mine Type: Surface
- Start Year: 1982
- Source of Financing:
Expansion
As of 2020, expansion of the Gacko lignite mine had already been happening for over 3 years without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Only early in 2020 the company commenced the EIA process for the mine's Central field, although the mining works continued. As the EIA study itself admitted, several kilometres of the River Mušnica have already been rerouted, and considerable parts of the mine area have already been exploited, something which is visible in satellite images, provided in the Bankwatch report.[8]
A court case was initiated in April 2022 by the Centre for the Environment and in a judgement from February 2023, for the second time, the court annulled the decision approving the EIA for the Central filed. In earlier court proceedings, which ended in March 2022, the court ruled that the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology should have conducted consultations with neighbouring entities and countries. However instead the Ministry approved (another) identical EIA without conducting consultations.[9]
Satellite images from 2020 to 2023 show further expansion of the mine in the South-eastern part.
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 https://www.ritegacko.com/ostvareni-rezultati-r/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240121005541/https://www.ritegacko.com/rudnik/. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Производна предузећа". https://ers.ba/. Retrieved January 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help); External link in|website= - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Istorija". https://www.ritegacko.com/. Retrieved January 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help); External link in|website= - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Rudnik i Termoelektrana Gacko". https://www.ritegacko.com/. Retrieved January 2023 and November 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help); External link in|website= - ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Ostvareni rezultati (Production results)". https://www.ritegacko.com/. Retrieved January 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help); External link in|website= - ↑ 7.0 7.1 "OSNOVNI PODACI:". https://www.ritegacko.com/. Retrieved January 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help); External link in|website= - ↑ "Illegal lignite mine expansion in Bosnia and Herzegovina prompts NGO formal complaint". bankwatch.org/. July 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Studija uticaja za proširenje kopa za RiTE Gacko poništena po drugi put". czzs.org/. February 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
