Power plant company Mátrai Erőmű has reopened its lignite mine near Detk, northeastern Hungary, chairman Bernhardt Luschper said yesterday, according to Hungarian news agency MTI.
Mátrai Erőmű has spent HUF 2.5 bln on preparations to reopen the mine, which has been closed since 2004. The company built four bridges, a 10 km conveyor system and an electricity grid near the dig site. After removing tailings, mining could resume in 2018, Luschper said.
Mátrai Erőmű plans to operate the mine for at least 40-45 years and extract several hundred million tonnes of lignite. Mátrai Erőmű mines an annual 8.5-9m tonnes of lignite at sites in the Mátra and Bükk mountains in North Hungary.
The company, which supplies 15% of Hungaryʼs electricity, had revenue of HUF 101.5 bln last year. Germanyʼs RWE-EnBW own 74% of Mátrai Erőmű and the state-owned Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) has a 24% stake.
source: bbj.hu
