From Mining to Post-Mining: The Sustainable Development Strategy of the German Hard Coal Mining Industry

Abstract

By the end of the 1950s, the German coal mining industry produced 150 million tons of hard coal per year in 170 collieries with 600,000 employees. At that time, 70% of the primary energy demand of the Federal Republic of Germany was covered by domestic coal. Since the advance of oil, later of natural gas, in the world energy market and with the growth of world coal trade, domestic coal stood under a long-term restructuring pressure. This decision required a new strategy for the coal mining industry. Now German coal mining will be strictly finalized and will be prepared for the post-mining era. Within a sustainability strategy the long-term impacts of mining activities before and after the mine closures concerning the environmental, economic and social dimensions will be analyzed systematically and forward-looking.