Opencast Mine, Garzweiler

Jacopo Quaranta

Set Ref:176

Date:23/02/2010

Germany has three open cast mines at Inden, Hambach and Garzweiler. Garzweiler spreads out in 66 square km, and will expand to 110 square km by 2044. A new commission, from March 1995, has seen Garzweiler erase 50 villages, some which date from the Roman period and, by 2044, another 11 villages will disappear, along with their people.

RWE, the corporation that owns the land, produces energy from brown coal and lignite removed from these mines. They provide most of the energy for Germany and 45\\% of the energy that they provide comes from this resources. The expanding the mine will have a huge impact on the environment, reaching a depth of up to 500 metres, and removing enough ground water, to supply a city of a million people for a year. This reservoir is also important for local forests which will disappear when the mine is completed, although these natural reserves are protected under European laws.