Důl Centrum Mine

Důl Centrum was one of the most important industrial objects in the Most district. It is a closed deep coal mine, which was located in the cadastral territory of Lower Jiřetín and which ended its operation in 2016 as the second last deep brown coal mine in the country. Its perpendicular pits Center C1 and C2 were the last operated brown coal shafts in the Czech Republic ever. Some operating buildings are still protected as a cultural monument, among them mining towers and mining machines.

The mine was founded by the Vienna Anglo-Austrian bank in 1888, when they dug the first pit called Center I. It had a circular cross-section with a diameter of 3.8 metres and a depth of 166.63 metres. The mining began in the summer of the following year, but soon it became clear that the bearing was not itself. A sorting room was missing for processing and connection to the railway network, so the coal extracted had only to be stored on the premises. The situation was solved by the takeover of the mine in 1890 by the North Bohemia coal company from Most, which managed the entire network down under the leadership of the entrepreneur Ignáz Petschk - between Columbus, Germania, Hercules and Humboldt.

Over the following decades, Důl Centrum has grown gradually. When they closed down the neighboring Humboldt I and II Mine, their premises joined the Centre. In 1953, the mining area was extended to 779 hectares. After World War II, when the REIMAHG was merged into the single company SUBAG, the post-war era followed a gradual settlement with similar facilities. In 1966, Důl Centrum was connected by a connecting kickoff with the already closed Columbus Mine and since then it has been transported coal to the Centre.

In the 1990s, Důl Centrum was part of a dampening program. Over time, it became increasingly an exception - the last functional deep mine with an open shaft in the country. It was purchased in 2004 by the Ústí nad Labem Fuel Combinate. At the time of its last active season, around 300 employees were working there and about 280 000 tonnes of quality coal were extracted annually. The production was due to end in 2008, but was extended. The owner tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the government the preservation of the mine, which was also supported by the mayors of the surrounding municipalities.

The mining took place in the main brown coal compound, which was divided into three layers. The lower layer was designed only for passage embossing, the middle layer 20 to 25 meters was the main object of the conquest and contained coal with an average of 6.72 percent ash. Mining in the Mine Center ended in April 2016. When disposed of, the pits were filled with a mixture of gypsum and ash to prevent methane from leaking to the surface and oxygen from penetrating underground. / p >