Pinoasa Coal Mine

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Pinoasa Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Motru, Rovinari, Oltenia, Romania.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Pinoasa Coal Mine	Motru, Rovinari, Oltenia, Romania	44.888444, 23.121639 (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	–	1980	2030 (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
–	2*	2023	Surface	Open Pit	15.8	50*	535

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
–	–	–	Oltenia	Lignite	Thermal	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Complexul Energetic Oltenia SA	Ministry of Energy (Romania) [77.2%]; Fondul Proprietatea SA [21.6%]; other unknown/mixed entity types [1.3%]	Romania

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

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
ROM	–	–	–	–	–	–	2*

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 Oltenia Energy Complex is a network of coal mines and power plants, operated by Complexul Energetic Oltenia S.A., in Gorj, Vâlce, and Mehedinţi, Romania.

Between 2017 and 2021, Oltenia Energy Complex had an average annual production of approximately 18.5 million tonnes of lignite from the ten mines it operates. In 2022, production of the complex reached 18.2 million tonnes.

The complex produces 99% of the country's lignite - 18.2 million tonnes in 2022.

The company operates ten pits. The complex has closed several other pits over the years. The Oltenia Energy Complex was established in 2012 by merging Societatea Naţionala a Lignitului Oltenia with Energy Complexes Turceni, Rovinari and Craiova. The company has its material base in Gorj, Vâlcea and Mehedinţi counties with total reserves of 2 billion tonnes of coal.

A Restructuring Plan for the Oltenia Energy Complex was approved by the European Commission in January 2022 which anticipated the phased closure of Husnicioara, Peșteana and Lupoaia quarries and the transition to conservation of Tismana and Jilt Sud from 2026.

More information on the complex is under Oltenia Energy Complex.

Pinoasa

Eurocal report referred to the planned for closure of the Pinoasa coal mine by the end of 2030. The same timeline was mentioned in a media report from October 2023.

In January 2023, the Romanian government adopted the decision to cut down a 106-hectare forest without compensation to expand the Timiseni-Pinoasa lignite mine, according to Bankwatch report. This would increase output of the mine up to 8 million tonnes per year, which is almost half of the total 2021 production of Oltenia. The decision runs counter the decarbonization process approved by the government earlier. The project has been in the works since 2019, according to another report, and the removal of the 106-hectare forecst is the last important step before moving on to mining.

In August 2024, a landslide occurred in the Pinoasa sector, bringing large blocks of rock that affected the working steps and reached the parking and transportation platform of the equipment on the quarry hearth. The labour inspection authorities have ordered to stop the exploitation activity in the Pinoasa quarry after the weekend accident, when two excavators were swallowed by the earth. Mining activity was to stop until the safety and health concerns are remedied. The excavators will no longer be able to be used because they have been completely damaged. It appeared that there were no casualties. The production of the mine was expected to return to about 170,000 tonnes per month in September.

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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.