Nochten Coal Mine

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Nochten Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Weißwasser, Boxberg, Saxony, Germany.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Nochten Coal Mine	Weißwasser, Boxberg, Saxony, Germany	51.457109, 14.574709 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

Loading map...

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	1968	2038 (planned)

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
–	12.3	2023	Surface	Open Pit	107	100	#REF!*

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
–	–	–	–	Lignite	Thermal	Boxberg Power Station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG	Energetický a průmyslový holding AS [50.0%]; PPF Investments Ltd [50.0%]	Czech Republic

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Saleable	18.5	16.3	14.6	14	16.1	14.5	12.3

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September and December supplements.

Background

The Nochten coal mine is an open-cast mine located near Weißwasser and Boxberg in Saxony, Germany.

The mine provides lignite to the Boxberg Power Station and Schwarze Pumpe power station. The first exploration took place in 1968, and Mühlrose was relocated for the first time in 1966. Due to the increasing energy demand in the GDR and the fact that lignite was the only raw material available in large quantities, the production capacities and, in parallel, the output of the Boxberg power plant were constantly increased.

The plans for an expansion of "Nochten II" came to a halt after the lignite division was taken over by Czech investors and transferred to LEAG. It is still unclear for the municipalities (as of December 2016) if the resettlement will proceed, especially since the resettlement of Klein Trebendorf was originally supposed to be completed in 2020. Associated with this is uncertainty among the residents concerned, as investments have been postponed for years and funding, for example for the replacement of sewage pits that are no longer approved, are not approved as long as the approval for use of the priority area exists.

The opencast mine is located in the northeast of the Free State of Saxony in the Sorbian settlement area. The pre-mining areas in the Muskauer Heide are mostly heather forests with a high proportion of pine , settlement areas are mostly in the peripheral areas. In the west, the open-cast mine is bounded by the Spree, in the south it extends to the eponymous place Nochten and in the east to the city of Weißwasser. The Nochten open-cast mine divides the Upper Lusatia military training area in two.

In August 2020, Germany passed a coal phaseout act which aims to gradually reduce and eventually end the use of coal-powered energy in the country by 2038. According to the Oeko-Institut, a nonprofit environmental research institute, the shutdown of the Nochten open-cast mine is planned for 2031. However, due to Russia's war in Ukraine, Germany was considering delaying the closure of some lignite power plants and bringing some recently closed lignite plants back online.

As per the company's 2023 ESG report, phasing out coal was still planned for 2038. In 2023, Lausitz Energie Bergbau started the construction of the 24MW solar park on recultivated land of Nochten mine.

In June 2024, Lausitz Energie Bergbau received the green light for up to 1.75 billion euros in state support to compensate for the implementation of the “early” phase-out of coal-fired power production in eastern Germany. Following a deal between the European Commission and the German government, Leag can receive the funds to finance the transition from the fossil fuel and help create new jobs in the Lusatia region after the coal exit’s definitive end date in 2038. LEAG's lignite coal mines will be among the last still operating in Germany.

As per late 2024 and 2025 news, the Nochten mine was is expanding and will 'consume' its last village Mühlrose next year. Mühlrose is the last place io be cleared for omining as there are around 150 million tons of coal beneath the village. LEAG assumes that the coal quantity is needed to supply the Boxberg power plant "without interruption and in line with demand" until the end of 2038. 200 people are losing their homes. LEAG plans to destroy the nearby forest by January 2026 to expand its Nochten coal mine, pumping millions of tonnes of CO2 in the air.

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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.