Reichwalde Coal Mine

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Reichwalde Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Boxberg, Saxony, Germany.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Reichwalde Coal Mine	Boxberg, Saxony, Germany	51.396367, 14.678249 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	1987	2038 (planned)

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
–	6.6	2023	Surface	Open Pit	55.0	100.0	1139*

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
–	–	366.0	–	Lignite	Thermal	Boxberg Power Station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Note: To access more comprehensive data on energy ownership, please visit the Global Energy Ownership Tracker.

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG [100%]	Energetický a průmyslový holding AS [50.0%]; PPF Investments Ltd [50.0%]	Czech Republic

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Saleable	13.2	13.5	12.6	6	5.4	12.5	6.6

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2025 release.

Background

The Reichwalde coal mine is an open-cast mine operated by LEAG near Boxberg in Saxony, Germany.

The mine provides lignite to the Boxberg Power Station. Development of Reichwalde mine, the easternmost opencast mine in the Lusatian district, began in 1980.

On April 25, 2018, the exposed coal seam caught fire. The fire quickly reached an extent of up to 2000 × 100 meters and burned for several days, as the fire had been kindled again and again by the prevailing wind. As a measure against the fire, the operator LEAG filled the burning area with the help of the overburden conveyor bridge.

In August 2020, Germany passed a coal phaseout act which aims to gradually reduce and eventually end the use of coal-powered energy in the country by 2038. According to the Oeko-Institut, a nonprofit environmental research institute, the shutdown of the Reichwalde open-cast mine is planned for 2041. However, due to Russia's war in Ukraine, Germany is considering delaying the closure of some lignite power plants and is also considering bringing some recently closed lignite plants back online.

As per the company's 2023 ESG report, phasing out coal was still planned for 2038. In June 2024, Lausitz Energie Bergbau received the green light for up to 1.75 billion euros in state support to compensate for the implementation of the “early” phase-out of coal-fired power production in eastern Germany. Following a deal between the European Commission and the German government, Leag can receive the funds to finance the transition from the fossil fuel and help create new jobs in the Lusatia region after the coal exit’s definitive end date in 2038. LEAG's lignite coal mines will be among the last still operating in Germany.

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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.