Mining of coal and gas in Beskydy?

The existence of a large reserves of hard coal and methane under the Beskydy mountains is a geologically proven fact which incites much emotion that is often abused by certain groups or individuals for their own aims. Some people try to claim that under the pretext of methane mining OKD intends to start mining for coal in Frenštát.

However, the reality is quite different. In 2000 OKD signed a memorandum in which it undertakes that under the current geopolitical and economic conditions in the sphere of utilization of hard coal deposits it is not considering exploitation of this raw material in the Frenštát Mine. The deposits have been conserved and coal was transferred from balance resources to non-balance resources. At present, the utilization of these deposits is not being considered within the state energy plan, nor by OKD.

The survey has hitherto been carried out only from the surface using the original drill wells. Whereas this method does not provide for perfect recognition of the coal gas capacity of the deposit, OKD, through its subsidiary IMGE, has filed a request for execution of a prospecting mine opening at the Frenštát Mine. It is also a necessary requirement under Act No. 44/1998 of the Coll. of Laws, on protection and utilization of mineral resources (the mining law), that OKD should survey and state reserves.

In no case would this prospect drilling mean opening new face working areas or re-opening the original mines.

Transcription of the first part of the interview with the director of the Institute of Geonics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Richard Šňupárek, M.Sc., Research Associate Professor (Spektra Rožnovska magazine no. 3)

The inhabitants of the Beskydy region watched suspiciously the recent attempt by OKD at starting survey work for prospective exploitation of methane primarily because they were afraid that the investments incurred may represent a strong argument for enforcing exploitation of hard coal as well.

Š: I cannot agree with that. Investments into exploitation of methane and into hard coal mining are so different in structure and volume that I cannot observe any conjunction between them. Exploitation of methane can lead to a better recognition of the deposit, which in the future may have an influence on the mines’ decision whether to start mining or not. The investment into exploitation of hard coal in the Frenštát region would be so high that, in my opinion, it substantially exceeds the current capacities of the mine's owner.

You have assured me that mining of hard coal in the very near future is out of the question due to economical reasons alone. However, let us assume that at some point in the future exploitation would be started. How would it look and what would be its impact on the landscape? The term "scorched earth" may be quite expressive, but when thinking about Karviná it may not be an exaggeration. In your article in the Spectrum magazine it was noted that Beskydy would not face a similar fate. What is your assumption based on? Is it related to superior methods of exploitation in the future?

Š: The comparison of the most damaged areas in the classic part of the district, in particular in the Karviná region, with the consequences of hard coal mining in the Frenštát region some time in the future is not appropriate for several reasons. The main impact of coal mining on the landscape can be divided into a number of issues. In the first place, there is surface subsidence, the so-called undermining, which afflicts a large part of the face working area. Furthermore, burrows (waste dumps) with waste rock are formed, sludge boxes during coal washing are created, waters pumped from the mine are polluted and have to be purified and discharged somehow, and of course there is dust formation resulting from transportation of large volumes of coal or waste rock. Let us try to draw a comparison in all these spheres we've mentioned between the current and former exploitation in the Karviná region and the contingent future exploitation in the Frenštát region. The situation in the Karviná region is the result of two hundred years of unregulated, very intensive mining in huge seams at shallow depths, with a very low and plastic rock cover over the carboniferous range. The situation in the Frenštát region is quite different, as the contingent exploitation would be carried out at far greater depths with a cover formed by the Beskydy thrust sheets, which act in a considerably more favourable manner and would not allow for such great surface subsidences. If we were to assess the consequences of this underground activity from a practical point of view, it would be perhaps best to look for an analogy in the currently exploited working area of Paskov-Staříč. The overall thickness of the seams and mining depth is comparable to those that come into question in the case of the Frenštát area; surface subsidences are within metres while in the Karviná region tens of meters are at play. I can see substantial differences in other spheres as well, as I am convinced that neither storage of materials (burrows, surface sanitation) nor coal washing would be permitted in the Frenštát region.