Lignite Mine Research Articles

An Entrepreneurial Perspective on the Transition of Lignite Rural Areas to a New Regime within a Suffocating Timeframe

Timetables for energy transition vary across EU Member States. The planning for dealing with the consequences of the transition in affected regions also varies. Under the pressure of the ten-year economic crisis, Greece is one of the few countries that has committed to stop using lignite in electricity generation, achieving 80% by 2023 and definitively by 2028. Apart from its environmental impact, the country assessed using lignite in electricity generation as unprofitable and damaging to the Greek economy. Simultaneously, it formulated a national energy transition plan for the country’s lignite areas. The plan also provides support for existing enterprises and incentives for new enterprises. European and domestic financial instruments accompany the support incentives. The compressed timetable is ambitious and demanding, entailing risks of project failure. As one of the first Member State projects to be completed in 2028, its outcome will shape an ambient atmosphere, positive or negative, for other Member States’ projects as well. Based on the transition plan and the timelines to which Greece has committed, this research examines the reanimation of rural areas involved in lignite mining from the perspective of entrepreneurship and financial support instruments. The findings revealed that while there is strong social consensus around the design that incorporates best practices, the basis for the completion schedule has unrealistic elements that will have potentially negative consequences for the restoration of the areas that the energy transition affects. The present study highlights the risks for entrepreneurship that tight schedules pose in the context of lignite area redevelopment.

Pragmatic patterns and discourses on Twitter: Unpacking perspectives in the discussion of the Turów lignite mine

Much public debate today is carried out on Twitter (now X), where the participants employ a range of diverse resources to convey their ideas effectively. Disentangling the resources into clear and understandable structures and patterns presents a fresh challenge for discourse pragmatics. This article addresses that challenge methodologically by evaluating existing methods for identifying and classifying pragmatic patterns, revealing their drawbacks, and advocating for a new coding system. This categorizes tweets based on a post's primary pragmatic function (informing, appealing, or expressing emotivity), considering subsidiary functions. The study then applies this new scheme to analyze the Twitter debate on the Polish Turów lignite mine, which became a subject of international dispute as the Czech and European authorities sought the mine's closure to eliminate its negative environmental impact. The debate unfolds mainly in Polish, Czech, and English, each language being associated with a distinct discourse. The English discourse emphasizes a transnational appeal for widespread decarbonization, contrasting with the predominantly oppositional, national political perspectives in the Polish and Czech discourses. These rely heavily on emotivity directed, in the Polish case, primarily against the country's ruling party, and in the Czech one against the deal eventually reached with Poland to mitigate the problems.

Effects of mining activities on fish communities and food web dynamics in a lowland river.

Fish communities of streams and rivers might be substantially subsidized by terrestrial insects that fall into the water. Although such animal-mediated fluxes are increasingly recognized, little is known about how anthropogenic perturbations may influence the strength of such exchanges. Intense land use, such as lignite mining, may impact a river ecosystem due to the flocculation of iron (III) oxides, thus altering food web dynamics. We compared sections of the Spree River in North-East Germany that were greatly influenced by iron oxides with sections located downstream of a dam where passive remediation technologies are applied. Compared to locations downstream of the dam, the abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates at locations of high iron concentrations upstream of the dam was significantly reduced. Similarly, catch per unit effort of all fish was significantly higher in locations downstream of the dam compared to locations upstream of the dam, and the condition of juvenile and adult piscivorous pike Esox lucius was significantly lower in sections of high iron concentrations. Using an estimate of short-term (i.e., metabarcoding of the gut content) as well as longer-term (i.e., hydrogen stable isotopes) resource use, we could demonstrate that the three most abundant fish species, perch Perca fluviatilis, roach Rutilus rutilus, and bleak Alburnus alburnus, received higher contributions of terrestrial insects to their diet at locations of high iron concentration. In summary, lotic food webs upstream and downstream of the dam greatly differed in the overall structure with respect to the energy available for the highest tropic levels and the contribution of terrestrial insects to the diet of omnivorous fish. Therefore, human-induced environmental perturbations, such as river damming and mining activities, represent strong pressures that can alter the flow of energy between aquatic and terrestrial systems, indicating a broad impact on the landscape level.

The Archaeological Legacy of the Lignite Boom in Upper Lusatia

At the beginning of the 19th century, nobody in the landscape of the heaths and ponds of Lusatia, a small region in the German-Polish border area, would have suspected the lasting effects of the lignite mining boom on the economy, landscape, and the local communities there. The initially small underground mines soon developed into large open-pit mines. 'Industrial cathedrals' were established, new cities were raised out of the heathland, long-distance transport networks were expanded, and industrial centres emerged that gained importance throughout Europe. The local population and culture changed through migration, adaptation and assimilation, the landscape through the huge earth movements caused by lignite mining. This enormous transformation of an entire region has an impact on identity even today, and still influences political processes. It is now the task of archaeology and heritage management organisations to document this recent past as well and to preserve its cultural value.

The Interests of Local Communities in the Transboundary Dimension: Considerations on the Dispute Regarding the Turów Lignite Mine

Abstract The objective of this article is to look for the answer to the question of whether the applicable public law regulations contain adequate mechanisms enabling the realisation of the interests of local communities in the transboundary dimension. The background to the considerations will be an analysis of the spatial planning and environmental impact assessment procedures in connection with the planned expansion of the area of the open cast Turów lignite mine.

Hydraulic Borehole Mining (HBM) technology employed in lignite mining – technical, economic and market aspects

Hydraulic Borehole Mining (HBM) technology employed in lignite mining – technical, economic and market aspects

Morphodynamics and heavy metal accumulation in an artificially built near-natural river (Inde, Germany)

Heavy metals in riverine sediments threaten fluvial ecosystems worldwide. Sediment cascades transporting the compounds downstream lead to pollution stress downstream from the original input source. In regulated rivers, artificially built reaches with re-activated morphodynamics and morphological structures may become typical sink areas for contaminants. Therefore, a thorough understanding of transport mechanisms and accumulation dynamics is the key to managing enhanced heavy metal concentrations in alluvial sediments. In this study, we investigate a morphologically diverse 12 km-long river reach of the Inde River in Germany, that was relocated in 2005 due to an open-pit lignite mine. As the Inde catchment is a former industrial hotspot (beginning in the Iron Age; golden age at the end of the nineteenth century), the floodplain sediments that accumulated since the construction of the Neue Inde are enriched in heavy metals. The structures and sediments of the relocation are recycled repeatedly, causing the mixing of contaminated and uncontaminated sediments. The Neue Inde is an important sediment trap, especially due to the river’s intense regulation immediately upstream. Thereby, the input of sediments enriched in heavy metals into the receiving waters, the Rur River, is limited. So far, it is unclear whether there is a threshold of sediment storage that, if exceeded, turns the Neue Inde from a sink to a source. The morphodynamical development of artificially built river reaches mainly depends on the restoration design in terms of initially built morphological structures and the width of the river corridor.

Hydrochemical stratigraphic analysis of the filling of the Meirama mine shaft I: monitoring and filling

The application of an old open-pit lignite mine as an auxiliary reservoir for the supply of the city of La Coruña has involved a detailed analysis of the chemical quality of the vertical profile. The study has shown that a stratified lake is formed where the shape of the filling (first with groundwater and later surface waters from the nearby rivers were added) has influenced the formation of the lake profile. The Meirama mine is an open-pit brown lignite mine located in NW Spain. Exploitation ended in March 2008, leaving a pit of approximately 146 hm3 with a maximum depth of 205 m. The rehabilitation of the pit consisted of the creation of a lake that will serve as an auxiliary water reservoir for the city of La Coruña. The filling process lasted approximately 8 years (March 2008–May 2016) with subterranean and surface contributions from the environment. The formation of an invariant chemocline and a seasonal thermocline was observed. Therefore, in this work, (the first of a series of two articles), an analysis of the evolution of various physicochemical parameters, elements, and compounds at certain heights (the surface, the first 2 m (2 mbs), at 59 masl, and at the bottom (2 masl)). In this first article, the physicochemical parameters of pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and some metallic elements (iron and manganese) are analysed. From the analyzed parameters it can be seen the creation of a surface thermocline and a chemocline at a depth of 59 masl with the beginning of the formation of anoxic conditions of the bottom of the pit through the consumption of oxygen.

Cancellidium intergraniferum (R. Potonié & S.C.D. Sah) G. Worobiec & E. Worobiec, comb. nov. from the Miocene of Poland, with remarks on the fossil history and palaeoecological potential of Cancellidium

ABSTRACT Fungal palynomorph corresponding to the fossil-species Lirasporis intergranifer R. Potonié & S.C.D. Sah, from the Middle Miocene lignite mine from Tomisławice (central Poland), was considered as a new combination Cancellidium intergraniferum (R. Potonié & S.C.D. Sah) G. Worobiec & E. Worobiec, comb. nov. Fossil-genus Lirasporis is treated as synonym of modern Cancellidium genus. C. intergraniferum from the Miocene of Poland documents the first fossil record of the Cancellidium Tubaki genus outside Asia, the first record of this genus from Europe, and the northernmost known fossil occurrence of Cancellidium. Living representatives of Cancellidium seem to prefer warm and humid climates and being aero-aquatic hyphomycetes are usually associated with decaying woody remains in aquatic environment. Similar ecology is suggested for the fossil C. intergraniferum, which could be a reliable fungal non-pollen palynomorph proxy for palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.

How to Decarbonize Greece by Comparing Wind and PV Energy: A Land Eligibility Analysis

To achieve sustainable development, the energy transition from lignite burning to renewable energy resources for electric power generation is essential for Greece. Wind and solar energy have emerged as significant sources in this transition. Surprisingly, numerous studies have examined the potential for onshore wind based on land eligibility, while few studies on open-field photovoltaic (PV) installations have been conducted. Therefore, based on the Specific Framework for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development for Renewable Energy Sources (SFSPSD-RES), along with insights from previous relevant studies, this work conducts a land eligibility analysis of onshore wind and open-field PV installations in Greece using the software Geospatial Land Availability for Energy Systems (GLAES 1.2.1) and ArcGIS 10.2. Additionally, through an in-depth exploration of wind and solar PV energy potential in decommissioned lignite mines integrated with wind power density (WPD) and global horizontal irradiation (GHI) maps, this study compares the suitability of wind versus solar as energy sources for the decarbonization of Greece. Overall, despite the greater spatial eligibility for onshore wind turbines compared to open-field PV power plants, the relatively lower wind energy potential and operational limitations of wind turbines lead to the study’s conclusion that solar energy (PV) is more suitable for the decarbonization of Greece.

European Green Deal + Poland + hydroelectric plants = Future?

This study considers the current state of hydropower in Poland and the legal and environmental conditions for its development. The research objective was to provide insights into the future of hydropower in Poland. An attempt was made to determine the direction of hydropower development in Poland by 2050, taking into account the requirements of the European Green Deal. The basic method used is logical argumentation, which is in turn based on a critical analysis of planning documents and scientific papers. Statistical data on the production and consumption of hydropower were also analysed. Currently, Poland’s potential for hydropower production is not being fully exploited. The main reasons for this are a lack of political support and socio-ecological issues associated with the need to take over inhabited areas or areas of high natural value. The analysis of the state of hydropower in Poland indicates that urgent intervention is required in many areas. This applies, especially, to issues of the control, modernisation and technical condition of hydropower plants and damming facilities. The potential for the development of hydropower in Poland is assessed to be very small. Environmental, socio-economic and legal conditions are unfavourable to the construction of new, large hydropower plants. The exception is pumped-storage power plants, which, acting as energy storage facilities, should in the future constitute an important element of the Polish energy system. The possibility of using defunct lignite mining pits for this purpose is indicated. It is shown that some of Poland’s former lignite mines are also conveniently located. The possible beneficial impact of building pumped-storage power plants into the water ecosystem of central Poland is emphasised.

The valuation of exit option in a lignite mine using Monte Carlo simulation

The valuation of exit option in a lignite mine using Monte Carlo simulation

Investigation of a large-scale waste dump failure at the Mae Moh mine in Thailand

This research investigates the potential mechanisms and possible causes of a large-scale waste dump failure in the Mae Moh Lignite Mine, which is Thailand's largest open-pit coal mine. The large-scale failure of the waste dumpsite covered an area of approximately 1.56 km2 when the dump materials reached a height of 135 m from the original ground. The failure event involved the mobilization of a 70-Mm3 mass of the dump material with 1.2 km in length and 1.3 km in width. The causes of this failure were investigated in this research based on a scientific investigation approach for the remedial action. The geophysical and geotechnical investigation was first performed to characterize the waste dump materials and the perched water condition. The electrical resistivity tomography analysis was also performed within the failure zone and its results were calibrated with the boreholes and interpreted to depict the overview of the geotechnical conditions of waste dump materials. Finally, the stability of the waste dumpsite was investigated using the finite element method (Plaxis 2D program). Based on the critical analysis of the studied data, the causes of waste dump slope failure could be attributed to two main factors, which are the presence of a perched water table associated with the high porewater pressure and the presence of a weak basal layer at the interface between the hard foundation and the waste dump materials. This weak basal layer was the claystone deposited in the swamp area above the hard foundation and deteriorated over time with the increasing amount of waste dumped. The dumping of waste materials over the natural river and pond and the rainwater infiltration over time caused the presence of a perched zone in the waste dumpsite. Failure of the dump slope can be classified as due to a wedge mode of failure, which causes the kinematics with the horizontal translation of a passive wedge and vertical subsidence of an active wedge.

Facies and statistical analyses of a crevasse-splay complex at the Tomisławice opencast lignite mine in central Poland

Facies and statistical analyses of a crevasse-splay complex at the Tomisławice opencast lignite mine in central Poland

Early Eocene biotic assemblage from the sedimentary deposits of the Tarkeshwar Lignite Mine, Gujarat and its palaeoenvironmental implications

The Palaeogene biota and the palaeoenvironmental history from the low latitudes are remarkably well–preserved in theopen–cast lignite deposits from Western India. Lignite sequences of the Cambay Shale Formation (Gujarat) have been a majorsource to understand the concept of early evolution of fossils including flora, arthropods, vertebrates fauna, and several aquaticforms during the Early Eocene. The study deals with an extensive record of amber inclusions and extracted pollen, vertebratefragments, dinoflagellate cysts and Carbon isotopes from the lignite and associated sediments from the Tarkeshwar Lignite Mineto add insights into the palaeoenvironment and depositional conditions of the Cambay Basin during the Early Eocene period. Thecurrent study demonstrates that throughout the late Palaeocene and early Eocene epoch, the palaeoenvironment changed fromlow land, marshy (lower portion), to shallow marine environment, presumably due to hyperthermal event PETM (middle part).Age diagnostic taxa, viz. Auxiodinium longispinosum, Apectodinium parvum and early wetzelielloid (Vallodinium? sp.) excursionprovide late Palaeocene–early Eocene period (~56–53 Ma) for the dinocyst interval in the middle part of the section. A pronouncednegative Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE) in the middle part is correlated to the second Eocene Thermal maximum (53.7 Ma),which is a globally recorded hyperthermal event. During the ETM–2 warming, the rise in pCO2 caused warm, humid conditionsas well as a rise in sea level, which may have contributed to the establishment of constrained shallow marine environments in theexamined middle unit sedimentary succession. Floral (spore–pollens, leaf, wood, seed, fruits) and faunal assemblages (Crocodiles,fish remains, amber insects) revealed the prevalence of a dense tropical luxurious rain forest (floral and faunal) near shore duringthe ETM–2 in the Tarkeshwar Lignite Mines, Cambay Basin.

A Brief Study to Assess the Environmental Impact Generated by Jilț North Open Pit

Abstract As the extension of the valid periods for lignite exploitation licenses in the current perimeters in the Oltenia basin is considered (except for those perimeters that will deplete the exploitable resource) until the horizon of the year 2030 (possibly even 2035), it is crucial to ensure that extractive activities take place under safe conditions, and, above all, under legal conditions regarding environmental protection. Despite the significant and undeniable negative effects of current lignite mining, this industrial sector has multiple possibilities at its disposal to minimize the negative impact on the environment and, moreover, to restore affected areas. In this context, within this paper, our goal is to identify, describe, and evaluate the environmental impact produced by lignite mining activities in the Jilț North open pit. To achieve this, well-known and recommended techniques and procedures from the specialized literature are used, taking into account the legislative provisions stipulated by Emergency Ordinance no. 195/2005 on environmental protection (approved by Law no. 265/2006) and the Mines Law no. 85/2003, as well as the guidelines outlined for anthropogenic impact assessment by Law no. 292/2018.

The potential of polycyclic aromatic compounds as indicators for soil contamination by open-pit mining and utilization of lignite: a case study at Ptolemaida basin, Greece

AbstractThe majority of Greek lignite fields and coal-fired power plants is accumulated in the centre of Western Macedonia in the Ptolemais-Amynteo region of Northern Greece (Ptolemaida basin). The corresponding environmental impact dominantly caused by the mining process itself but also due to the burning process of lignites needs to be considered. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the potential of PAHs to trace the environmental impact of power plant and coal mining emissions on soil pollution in the Ptolemaida basin. Noteworthy, the study area exhibits some special features (e.g. geomorphological and meteorological conditions, well-defined emission sources) that allow to prove the suitability of PAHs as indicators for specific petrogenic contaminations. The different sets of PAH emission sources followed in this study (fly ashes, lignite dust, charred woody material) reflected the pollution as derived from the coal mining activities as well as agricultural measures. Different approaches from simple (total amount) to more complex fingerprinting (ring member classification; profiles of sulphur-/nitrogen- and oxygen-containing PACs) as well as the application of established specific PAH ratios revealed no significant correlation with the detected soil contamination or rather soil PAH profiles. However, the microscopic analyses contradicted this assumption, since relevant particle concentrations were evident for fly ash as well as lignite particles. Hence, a huge superimposition by a further PAH emission source is assumed, probably the exhaust fumes of car traffic. In general, the study demonstrated that the application of PAHs as source indicators in soil systems is very complex and needs a very thorough interpretation. Hence, the need of using additionally complementary parameters for an unambiguous emission source apportionment seems obvious. Graphical abstract

Experimental Study on the Microstructural Characterization of Retardation Capacity of Microbial Inhibitors to Spontaneous Lignite Combustion

Mine fires are one of the common major disasters in underground mining. In addition to the external fire sources generated by mining equipment and mechanical and electrical equipment during operations, coal is exposed to air during mining, and spontaneous combustion is also the main cause of mine fires. In order to reduce the hidden danger of coal mines caused by spontaneous coal combustion during lignite mining, the microbial inhibition of coal spontaneous combustion is proposed in this paper. Via SEM, pore size analysis, and NMR and FT-IR experiments, the mechanism of coal spontaneous combustion is discussed and revealed. The modification of lignite before and after the addition of retardants is analyzed from the perspective of microstructure, and the change in flame retardancy of the lignite treated with two retardants compared with raw coal is explored. The results show that, compared with raw coal, a large number of calcium carbonate particles are attached to the surface of the coal sample after bioinhibition treatment, and the total pore volume and specific surface area of the coal sample after bioinhibition treatment are decreased by 68.49% and 74.01%, respectively, indicating that bioinhibition can effectively plug the primary pores. The results of NMR and Fourier infrared spectroscopy show that the chemical structure of the coal sample is mainly composed of aromatic carbon, followed by fatty carbon and carbonyl carbon. In addition, the contents of active groups (hydroxyl, carboxyl, and methyl/methylene) in lignite after bioretardation are lower than those in raw coal, and methyl/methylene content is decreased by 96.5%. The comparison shows that the flame-retardant performance of biological retardants is better than that of chemical retardants, which provides an effective solution for the efficient prevention and control of spontaneous combustion disasters in coal mines.

Scanning electron microscopy of Sarcoptes kutchensis, a new species of a Middle Eocene sarcoptid mite in amber from the Umarsar Lignite Mine of Kutch, Western India

ABSTRACT The article describes a new species of a fossil sarcoptid mite, Sarcoptes kutchensis n. sp. extracted from a dissolved slab of amber, from the Umarsar Lignite Mine of the Kutch Basin. The fossil is a remarkable representative of forest litter biota, well-preserved in amber and represents the oldest group of mites from the equatorially placed Eocene forest, dominated by broad-leaved Dipterocarpaceae trees and shares similar taxonomic features with the present day genus of Sarcoptes, Latreille, 1802. The species is recognised by dense microfoveolate striations, lack of cuticular spines on the dorsal surface with morphological resemblance to Trixacarus, Sellnick, 1944, particularly in terms of monodactyly. The fossil is derived from an ancient group of forest litter biota which gradually evolved to higher trophic levels including association with vertebrates. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is used to highlight diagnostic characteristics including capitulum and partially concealed legs with sensory suckers, crucial for defence against large faunal predators.

Evaluating indicators of hydrologic alteration to demonstrate the impact of open-pit lignite mining on the flow regimes of small and medium-sized rivers

Our study provides a retrospective evaluation of the perturbances of the opencast mining on the small river. Based on a standard 'before-after-control-impact' approach, we assess the impact of disturbances on aquatic ecosystems. For this purpose, we used IHA (Index of Hydrological Alteration) statistics to fully quantify the impact of open-pit mine on flow regimes of small-to-medium-size rivers. The analysis results in flow data captured in the 33 parameters of the range variability approach (RVA) and five ecological flow components (EFC). This approach helped us comprehensively evaluate the alteration in the flow regime in areas of open-pit mining on the example of the Noteć River, a typical lowland river. We conclude that the level integrated hydrologic alterations to this river under the influence of the groundwater depression cone and water from the mine dewatering are high, as assessed by the RVA and EFC methods. Specifically, this work uses the IHA framework to verify the necessity of including a specific group of indicators. Our analysis shows that for the post-impact period on the investigated river, the functioning of the river ecosystem was degraded. One of the EFC components completely disappeared at both water gauge stations. There were also profound hydrologic alterations, such as increased frequency or duration of “extreme low flows” at one station; at the second station, “high flow pulses” occurred more frequently. More than 65 % of the altered parameters in five IHA groups were modified drastically. In the river section affected by the groundwater depression cone, both the minimum and maximum flows decreased by 20 % to 55 %. In the section where water from the mine dewatering is fed in, the minimum flows changed by + 170 to + 230 %. The use of the IHA tool provides an opportunity for environmental flow restoration of water conditions in degraded post-mining areas.