Jilt Sud Coal Mine
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Jilt Sud Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Motru, Rovinari, Oltenia, Romania.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Jilt Sud Coal Mine | Motru, Rovinari, Oltenia, Romania | 44.846167, 23.055556 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating | – | 1978 | 2026 (planned)[1] |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | 2020[2] | Surface | Open Pit | 9.71 | 50* | 859[3] |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | – | – | Oltenia | Lignite | Thermal | – |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Complexul Energetic Oltenia SA[4] | Ministry of Energy (Romania) [77.2%]; Fondul Proprietatea SA [21.6%]; other unknown/mixed entity types [1.3%] | Romania |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.
Background
The Oltenia Energy Complex is a network of coal mines and power plants, operated by Complexul Energetic Oltenia S.A., in Gorj, Vâlce, and Mehedinţi, Romania.
Between 2017 and 2021, Oltenia Energy Complex had an average annual production of approximately 18.5 million tonnes of lignite from the ten mines it operates.[5] In 2022, production of the complex reached 18.2 million tonnes.[6]
The company operates ten pits.[7][5] The complex has closed several other pits over the years.[8] The Oltenia Energy Complex was established in 2012 by merging Societatea Naţionala a Lignitului Oltenia with Energy Complexes Turceni, Rovinari and Craiova. The company has its material base in Gorj, Vâlcea and Mehedinţi counties with total reserves of 2 billion tonnes of coal.[9]
A Restructuring Plan for the Oltenia Energy Complex was approved by the European Commission in January 2022 which anticipated the phased closure of Husnicioara, Peșteana and Lupoaia quarries and the transition to conservation of Tismana and Jilt Sud from 2026.[10]
More information on the complex is under Oltenia Energy Complex.
Jilt Sud and Jilt Nord
Jilt is one of the largest open-pit mines in Romania. The mine has two open pits, Jilț Sud, Jilț Nord, and around 2,400 workers.[11] In 2015, the residents of Runcurel, a village in Romania’s south west, were given 30 days to vacate their homes in exchange for 1 euro per square meter of land to accommodate the Jilt Nord mine expansion. Backed by a Romanian government executive decree dated Dec. 9, the mine was declared a project of national importance and earlier attempts to reach a deal with villagers were abandoned. The villagers say no compensation was offered for homes, orchards, crops or other assets linked to the land and lodged court action against the company.
On March 18, 2016 villagers from Runcurel, with the help of Bankwatch and Greenpeace, filed a case to sue the government in a bid to have the decision to reclaim their land revoked. The court documents stated that the environmental permit issued for the mine’s expansion is linked to a formal strategy to relocate the villagers to nearby Telesti at OEC expense, which remains unimplemented. Additionally, the document stated that the government’s executive decree contradicts Romania’s national energy strategy which seeks to reduce energy production from coal and discourages new energy projects with significant socio-cultural impacts.[12]
As stated above, the deforestation permits allowing the Jilt Sud expansion were annulled in 2017. However, in 2019, the government approved the final procedure for extending the perimeter of the Jilț Sud mine, which already opened that year.[13]
The mine had an estimated production of 3.9Mt in 2020 (both Nord and Sud).[14]
A serious accident occurred at Jilt Sud in January 2023, when a car full of workers overturned. Three people died and 13 others were injured.[15]
Jilt Sud and Jilt Nord were both planned for closure by the end of 2023, according to Euracoal report from 2023.[7] A media source from October 2023 stated that closure activities at Jilt Sud have begun and from January 2024, the mine will be closed. There was a procedure underway for the selection of design services for the development of technological plans for the cessation of activity. As there was no official confirmation of the closure of Jilt Sud, it was assumed operational, as of February 2024. As of early 2025, both mines were still operating but in poor conditions and without proper equipment.[16] Jillt Sud was said to be closing later in 2025.[16]
A media source from January 2025 reported that the closure date of Jilt Sud was being renegotiated with the European Commission. Even though the Restructuring Plan provides for the closure of the mine in this year (2025), negotiations were talking place to postpone this date. CE Oltenia representative stated that "As the situation stands, I do not believe that the Jilț Sud Mine will close this year. Coal can still be exploited there, and the costs are not very high". [17]
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.
References
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240520180116/https://romania.europalibera.org/a/fond-forestier-mina-carbune-lignit-gorj/32224112.html. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240216223012/https://www.mining-technology.com/marketdata/ten-biggest-producing-surface-and-underground-mines-in-europe-in-2020/. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.ceoltenia.ro/en/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.ceoltenia.ro/en/business/piata-de-carbune/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Romania plans to expand coal mine over 100 hectares of forests". balkangreenenergynews.com. January 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Romania-Country Profile". https://euracoal.eu/. January 2024.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Romania - Country Profile". /euracoal.eu/. January 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Report International, EKO UNIA
- ↑ ROEC,Complexul Energetic Oltenia, accessed September 2020
- ↑ "Planul de restructurare a Complexului Energetic Oltenia a fost aprobat de Comisia Europeană. Compania va beneficia de 2,7 miliarde de euro," Targu Jiu, January 27, 2022
- ↑ Jilț Coal Mine, Wikipedia, last edited October 1, 2019.
- ↑ Swallowed by a coal mine: the village that disappeared, Reuters, May 17, 2016.
- ↑ The government cuts forests and expropriates to open three lignite mines from Ceausescu's time, Radio Free Europe, July 18, 2019.
- ↑ "Ten biggest producing surface and underground mines in Europe in 2020". /www.mining-technology.com. 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Accidentul de la mina Jilț: Urme șterse, șofer de la altă firmă, muncitori transportați alături de butelii cu gaz (Raport ITM)". www.digi24.ro. January 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Ce se întâmplă în carierele CE Oltenia. "Lucrurile stau foarte rău la Jilț Sud și Nord"". //www.gorjonline.ro. February 2025.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ↑ "Renunță la închiderea Carierei Jilț Sud?". /www.gorjonline.ro. January 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
