Major eastern German lignite mine resumes operation

A major eastern German lignite (brown coal) mine is resuming operations this week, six months after work was halted by an environmental lawsuit, newswire dpa reports in an article carried by Focus Online. A court halted work at the Jänschwalde surface mine in Brandenburg last summer, in response to a lawsuit brought by environmental NGOs arguing that the mine threatened protected swamp and wetland areas. The court found that the mine’s operator, LEAG, could not demonstrate that its mining operations were not damaging the region's ground water supply, forcing the company to undertake an extensive environmental review. On Monday, the company announced that the Brandenburg state mining authority (LBGR) had approved its operations plan through 2023, and the mine planned to resume operations on Tuesday, dpa reports.  The mine has about 600 employees, the article says.

The Jänschwalde mine is a major operation in Lusatia, a region that straddles the eastern German states of Brandenburg and Saxony. The region has been at the centre of discussions about Germany’s planned coal exit, and how to manage a structural transition in regions where many jobs and livelihoods depend on lignite mining and coal-fired power generation.