Oslomej Coal Mine

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Oslomej Coal Mine (Осломеј) is an operating coal mine in Zhubrino, Oslomej, North Macedonia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Oslomej Coal Mine Zhubrino, Oslomej, North Macedonia 41.582133, 21.000288 (exact)

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

Loading map...

Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Operating

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
0.155[1] 2022[1] Surface Open Pit 6[1] 50* #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
5.83[2] Lignite Thermal Oslomej power station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner Parent Company Headquarters
Elektrani na Severna Makedonija AD Elektrani na Severna Makedonija AD [100%] North Macedonia

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

ROM or Saleable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
ROM 0.123[3] 0.217[4] 0.21[5] 0.23[6] 0.15[7] 0.04[8] 0.18[9]

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

Oslomej Coal Mine is surface operation in Oslomej, North Macedonia.

The mine provides power to the Oslomej power station. The coal mine and the 125 MW plant was commissioned in 1980. It is owned and operated by North Macedonian state-owned electric company Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (ESM), and fueled by domestic lignite from the Oslomej Coal Mine.[10]

In April 2022, the 10 MW solar plant began test operations at the site.[11] Though the solar generation was developed with the intention of replacing the coal plant, the Oslomej thermal plant had continued operations after the initial target retirement.[12]

Oslomej Coal mine did not produce any coal in 2022 and 2023, except for small quantities excavated in the 'OId mine' ('Star rudnik') part of East-Oslomej.[8][9] The power plant had to procure 0.3 million tonnes of external coal in 2023 to maintain operations.[9]

As per 2024 news, ESM was considering to open a new lignite mine near Oslomej at a location called Gusterica and in March 2024 awarded a tender to prepare a Study on the justification of the concession for the exploitation of coal.[13][14]

Coal phase out date

As of December 2021, North Macedonia was planning to phase out coal by 2027, decommissioning Oslomej TPP in 2021 and REK Bitola by 2027. This was only in planning, according to their draft National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), although it was also submitted through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted under the Paris Agreement in 2021 (page 7, point d).[15] The decommissioning of Oslomej did not happen in 2021. In January 2022, the coal phase-out was delayed until 2030 due to concerns over energy security.[12]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240302081444/https://economy.gov.mk/content/%25D0%259F%25D1%2580%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B2%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B4-%25D0%259D%25D0%25B0%25D1%2586%25D1%2580%25D1%2582%2520%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B2%25D0%25B5%25D1%2581%25D1%2582%25D0%25B8%25D1%2586%25D0%25B8%25D1%2581%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B8%2520%25D0%25BF%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BD_%25D0%259A%25D0%2598%25D0%25A4.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 02 March 2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20240726173338/https://reseerve.eu/results/west-balkan-mineral-register-of-primary-raw-materials. Archived from the original on 26 July 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. (PDF) https://www.elem.com.mk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Godishen-izveshtaj-2017.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. (PDF) https://www.elem.com.mk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/%D0%93%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%98-2018.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. (PDF) https://www.esm.com.mk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/GODISEN-IZVESTAJ-2019.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. (PDF) https://www.esm.com.mk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GODISEN-IZVESTAJ-2020.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240125153759/https://www.esm.com.mk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/AD-ESM-GODISEN-IZVESTAJ-2021.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-01-25. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. 8.0 8.1 (PDF) https://www.esm.com.mk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Godisen-izvestaj-za-rabota-na-AD-ESM-za-2022-g.-1.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 (PDF) https://www.esm.com.mk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AD-ESM-GODISEN-IZVESTAJ-2023.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "TPP Oslomej," ELEM, accessed December 2019
  11. "N. Macedonia starts test run of Oslomej PV plant," Renewables Now, April 6, 2022
  12. 12.0 12.1 "Balkans turns to coal as energy crisis trumps climate commitments," Reuters, April 19, 2022
  13. "ИЗВЕСТУВАЊЕ ЗА СКЛУЧЕН ДОГОВОР ЗА ЈАВНА НАБАВКА". /e-nabavki.gov.mk. March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. "Енергетска транзиција со нови рудници за јаглен и фотоволтаици на плодна земја". /www.slobodnaevropa.mk/. January 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. "Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution," Submission by the Republic of North Macedonia, 2021

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