Gusterica Coal Mine
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Gusterica Coal Mine (Осломеј) is a proposed coal mine in Zhubrino, Oslomej, North Macedonia.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Gusterica Coal Mine | Zhubrino, Oslomej, North Macedonia | 41.582133, 21.000288 (approximate) |
The map below shows the approximate location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Project Type | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed | Pre-Permit[1][2] | Expansion | – | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – | Surface | Open Pit | – | 50.0* | – |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – | – | Lignite | Thermal | Oslomej power station |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| ESM [100%] | Elektrani na Severna Makedonija AD | North Macedonia |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2025 release.
Background
Oslomej Coal Mine is surface operation in Oslomej, North Macedonia.
The mine provides power to the Oslomej power station. The coal mine and the 125 MW plant was commissioned in 1980. It is owned and operated by North Macedonian state-owned electric company Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (ESM), and fueled by domestic lignite from the Oslomej Coal Mine.[3]
In April 2022, the 10 MW solar plant began test operations at the site.[4] Though the solar generation was developed with the intention of replacing the coal plant, the Oslomej thermal plant had continued operations after the initial target retirement.[5]
Oslomej Coal mine did not produce any coal in 2022 and 2023, except for small quantities excavated in the 'OId mine' ('Star rudnik') part of East-Oslomej.[6][7] The power plant had to procure 0.3 million tonnes of external coal in 2023 to maintain operations.[7]
As per 2024 news, ESM was considering to open a new lignite mine near Oslomej at a location called Gusterica and in March 2024 awarded a tender to prepare a Study on the justification of the concession for the exploitation of coal.[8][9]
Coal phase out date
As of December 2021, North Macedonia was planning to phase out coal by 2027, decommissioning Oslomej TPP in 2021 and REK Bitola by 2027. This was only in planning, according to their draft National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), although it was also submitted through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted under the Paris Agreement in 2021 (page 7, point d).[10] The decommissioning of Oslomej did not happen in 2021. In January 2022, the coal phase-out was delayed until 2030 due to concerns over energy security.[5]
References
- ↑ https://www.slobodnaevropa.mk/a/jaglen-fotovoltaici-rudnici-struja-/33283388.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://e-nabavki.gov.mk/PublicAccess/home.aspx#/dossie-acpp/2a0d0f91-5a58-4204-a696-70c6d848cbe6.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "TPP Oslomej," ELEM, accessed December 2019
- ↑ "N. Macedonia starts test run of Oslomej PV plant," Renewables Now, April 6, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Balkans turns to coal as energy crisis trumps climate commitments," Reuters, April 19, 2022
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedautoref_7 - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:0 - ↑ "ИЗВЕСТУВАЊЕ ЗА СКЛУЧЕН ДОГОВОР ЗА ЈАВНА НАБАВКА". /e-nabavki.gov.mk. March 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Енергетска транзиција со нови рудници за јаглен и фотоволтаици на плодна земја". /www.slobodnaevropa.mk/. January 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution," Submission by the Republic of North Macedonia, 2021
Articles and Resources
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.
