The geological education in Greece is essentially rooted in the second half of the 19th century, since 1836, when secondary education was established in Greece. Although geology is referred to in all educational programs, its field was not taught bef...
Under the pressure of competition, primarily caused by the high price of carbon dioxide emission allowances, lignite production in Western Macedonia Lignite Centre dramatically reduced in the last decade. This development affects the ambient air qual...
The extraction of the Bełchatów lignite deposit located in the vicinity of the Dębina salt dome requires careful planning that considers the influence of mining projects on the slope and salt dome stability conditions. The instability problem...
Surface lignite mines of the Balkan Peninsula face growing pressure due to the CO2 emissions reduction initiatives, rapidly increasing renewable-power capacity, and cheap natural gas. In this frame, the development of a modern mine land rehabilitatio...
A large contiguous former opencast lignite-mining district is located in Lusatia, Germany, about 100 km south of Berlin. Since this region has been heavily polluted by acid mine drainage from opencast lignite mines, time- and cost-efficient investiga...
The article presents the impact of lignite mining on the environment associated with the introduction of hydro borehole mining (HBM) technology. The results are partially based on the HydroCoal Plus project results, where an environmental assessment...
The future of opencast mining and energy production based on conventional resources is one of the most important issues being discussed in international forums. The whole discussion is becoming increasingly heated and takes on a special significance...
The increasing use of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, presents challenges to the stability and efficiency of other energy sources due to their intermittent and unpredictable surpluses. The unintended consequence of stabilizin...
This study examines the combined effects of decommissioning lignite mining operations and long-term climate trends on groundwater systems and land surface movements in the Konin region of Poland, which is characterised by extensive open-pit lignite e...
The energy crisis in Europe and Poland caused by the conflict in Ukraine has renewed the debate in some countries about the wisdom of abandoning the use of local fossil fuels. The rise in gas and oil prices with little change in the cost of extractin...
Lignite production in Greece is implemented mainly by the Public Power Corporation (PPC), with the higher production being in the Lignite Center of Western Macedonia. A continuous surface mining method is used in order to satisfy the high production...
This paper proposes a stochastic frontier model for measuring both technical and environmental performance at the mine level by using a translog production function. The Kardia Field opencast lignite mine of the Greek Public Power Corporation (PPC),...
Flooding of post-mining voids is one of the most common methods of post-mining areas reclamation. The article presents selected post-mining lakes investigated within the research project “Risk assessment of final pits during flooding” (RA...
The Rhenish lignite mining region is facing enormous structural changes due to the withdrawal from opencast mining. The current planning of the regional transformation process, however, has so far only insufficiently considered the local impacts of c...
Among the procedures included in surface mines’ closure, the determination of post-mining land uses constitutes one of the early but primary steps. This research aims to develop an algorithm for the selection of the most suitable land use spati...
Market-driven closures of coal mines have typically been associated with negative economic consequences for the affected regions. In Germany, structural policy directed towards ameliorating the negative effects of hard coal decline in the Ruhr area l...
Coal, and even more so, brown coal or lignite, is currently under-researched in the energy humanities. Lignite still provides approximately 25% of “green” Germany’s energy; its extraction obliterates human settlements and vibrant ec...
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 sponta...
A new perspective is presented for evaluating the slope stability of coal and lignite mines due to rainfall. The case of Greek lignite mining areas is employed to illustrate the methodology. Initially, past climatic records of rainfall are documented...
The motivation for this study arises from the need to monitor the condition of a rehabilitated post-mining areas even decades after the end of the recovery phase. This can be facilitated with satellite derived spectral vegetation indices and Geograph...
Coal seams, as critical components of open-pit mine slopes, are subjected to both quasi-static and dynamic loading disturbances during mining operations, with their mechanical properties directly influencing the slope stability. Consequently, to clar...
At the end of surface mining activities, the remnant voids are of great concern regarding rehabilitating the final open pits. The investigation of the sustainability of pit lakes in post-mining regions constitutes a challenging research problem. This...
The paper presents the results of sociological qualitative research on safety management in work organization. The focus was on how to adapt the workforce to the sanitary regime during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic in the lignite mining and energ...
As Europe transitions away from fossil fuel energy, the challenges associated with closing mines, along with restructuring mine-dependent communities, continue to reduce the rate at which this transition occurs. A large volume of research has been pu...
In the context of the lignite phase-out plan in Greece, the aim of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) is sustainable mine closure and land reclamation and, at the same time, the enhancement of safe mining and post-mining activities. The main objectiv...
Hydrogeological conditions constitute a crucial factor during mining excavations. However, they could also define when and how rapidly the final pit voids will be filled with water after mine closure. They also influence the final steady-state water...
The article is seeking to analyse the coal transition in three Polish lignite regions as part of the scientific discussion on a just transition, which is a big challenge, especially in the regions and countries dependent on their own coal deposits as...
Responsible mining considers the three pillars of sustainability, namely the environment, the economy and social welfare. As a result, exploitation of deposits of useful mineral substances, as an economic activity, must be carried out taking into acc...
Methane emissions from coal mining remain a significant environmental challenge in the European Union, particularly in the context of climate change commitments and the ongoing transformation of the energy sector. This article analyses methane emissi...
The present study explores the process of Greece’s current decarbonisation transition and its energy policy regarding the country’s two coal-mining areas. Using the Region of Western Macedonia as a case study, we aimed at providing a holistic approac...
In Poland, apart from opencast mining, brown coal (lignite) was also mined by underground methods. This is related to glaciotectonic disturbances leading to deposition of Miocene coal in the form of folds (synclines and anticlines). The highest numbe...
Reducing energy consumption in belt conveyor systems is critical to improving the overall energy efficiency of lignite mining operations. This study presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of energy use in overburden and coal conveyors, with a...
Spatial modeling and evaluation is a critical step for planning the exploitation of mineral deposits. In this work, a methodology for the investigation of a multi-seam coal deposit spatial variability is proposed. The study area includes the Klidi (F...
The main objective of this research was to study heavy metal absorption by the leaves of main forest species which were planted for that purpose at post-lignite mining landscapes in Northern Greece (Ptolemais, Prefecture of Kozani), as well as in a n...
The development of three-dimensional geological models has proven to be critical for conceptualizing complex subsurface environments. This is crucial for mining areas due to their various hazards and unstable conditions. Furthermore, three-dimensiona...
The chemical properties of soils in the Sarigkiol Basin, Western Macedonia, Greece, were studied to investigate the potential for new land uses in post-mining areas. An extensive dataset of chemical parameters was analyzed in a total of 34 representa...
Surface lignite coal mines in east Texas are commonly reforested using loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) following mining and reclamation activities. Due to the nature of such an extreme disturbance, altered growth patterns, growth rates, and productivi...
This article explores the land use conflict. Coal exploitation precludes agricultural production and, as a result, mining-energy projects come across NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) opposition from the farming community. An investigation was carried out...
In the context of the complete phase-out of lignite-fired power plants and the corresponding surface mines, the central priority is to ensure a fair development transition for the lignite mining areas. In the context of the installation of renewable...
Precipitation totals at annual and monthly scale are key elements affecting water availability for a number of human activities. Thus, the multi-year variability and probability distribution of precipitation form the basis information for water manag...
The European green deal and energy transition policies and the competition primarily shaped by the high price of carbon dioxide emission allowances and the consistently reduced cost of renewable energy technologies directly affect the coal and lignit...
The objective of the paper is an introductory discussion on the knowledge gaps (KGs) observed in mining operations. A qualitative research (QLR) methodology, based on empirical evidence from the Greek mining industry, is discussed to identify the KGs...
As Europe addresses decarbonization, huge coal mining areas shall be reclaimed and appropriately valorized, creating the post-mining areas. This work assesses their resilience and safety by methodologically addressing multi-hazards threatening closed...
Recent changes in the fossil-fuel energy sector require coal mining industries to plan for the future, including developing procedures for decommissioning and closure associated with mines. In surface coal mining, the geotechnical issues of decommiss...
Over a period of 30 years, the surface water level in the north-west of Konin, in the east of the Wielkopolska region, decreased by almost 6 m, resulting in a reduction of the surface area of the majority of nearby lakes, the disappearance of smaller...
Fluorine appears in coal and is released into the atmosphere upon combustion, resulting in harmful impacts on the environment and life, which needs to be removed from coal before utilization. Coal can be processed by flotation and gravity separation...
Forests and forest plantations rank first in storing carbon and play a substantial role in climate change mitigation. Assimilated carbon is stored in the above- and belowground parts of trees, in dead wood, in litter, and in soil. The Greek power gen...
The Bełchatów Lignite Mine (BLM) in central Poland, one of Europe’s largest Neogene lignite deposits, provides key insights into palaeofloral evolution. Located in the Kleszczów Graben, the BLM consists of four distinct litho...
In many circles, brown coal continues to be viewed as a cheap source of energy, resulting in numerous investments in new opencast brown coal mines. Such a perception of brown coal energy is only possible if the external costs associated with mining a...
The restoration of continuous surface lignite mines entering the closure phase is a long-term, complex and multidisciplinary project. During the evaluation of alternative restoration technologies, various environmental, technical, economic and social...
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