Tamnava-West Coal Mine

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Tamnava-West Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Mali Borak, Central Serbia, Serbia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Tamnava-West Coal Mine	Mali Borak, Central Serbia, Serbia	44.473607, 20.222826 (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	–	1994	–

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
–	11.5	2023	Surface	Open Pit	–	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
2100	–	–	Kolubara	Lignite	Thermal	Kolubara B Power Station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD	Government of the Republic of Serbia	Serbia

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

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Saleable	16.8	13	11.9	12.1	11.9	12.2	11.5

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 Tamnava-West coal mine is a surface mine near Mali Borak, Serbia. It is part of Kolubara Mine Complex.

It is located in the Western part of the basin and started operations in 1994. Tamnava East section ceased operations in late 2000s.

The Tamnava-West coal mine is the largest producer of coal in Serbia which is essential for the power generation in the country.

It has nine continuous systems, from which eight have bucket wheel excavators and one has a bucket chain excavator. Heavy rainfall caused major floods in 2014, all surface mines were flooded, along with the continuous mining equipment. Coal production dropped from 14.6 million tonnes in 2013 to 5.9Mt in 2014. However the rehabilitation and equipment revitalization were successful because the mine recovered fast and coal production rose to 11.4 million tonnes in 2015.

In 2022 it was reported that the power plants experienced issues with the coal quality from the Kolubara mines, in particular coal from Tamnava-West Coal Mine which is mixed with soil which is almost impossible to remove.

The national Energy Strategy of Serbia up to 2040 (with projections up to 2050) adopted in late 2024 referred to Tamnava West coal mine to be in full production stage, but some of the planned investments are still not completed (equipment acquisition – bucket wheel excavators and self-propelled belt conveyors, dewatering facilities, and similar). Investments to complete the investment cycle were estimated at EUR 55 million for Tamnava-West. The issue of low lignite quality in some parts of the Kolubara basin shall be solved by selective excavation, homogenization and with introduction of integral management system, as well as by supplying a certain amount of more quality coal from the Kostolac basin.

A map of the pits of the Kolubara mine complex.

National Coal Plans

In July 2024, Serbia adopted the final National Energy and Climate Plan highlighting that with the exception of some units, generally coal power plant capacities will be maintained and will not be dismantled until 2045. The national Energy Strategy of Serbia up to 2040 (with projections up to 2050) indicated that coal production shall be gradually lowered. It is estimated that the demand for brown coal and dry lignite will be halved by 2040, in relation to the reference year 2021. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize and rationalize production in underground coal mining, close non-viable mines with almost depleted reserves and invest in viable and profitable mines. Remaining coal reserves should acquire strategic character and it is necessary to make investment in overburden excavation and slope stabilization.

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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.