Coal from Stavalj Mine Cheaper and More Ecological Than Wood

Observing the quality of brown coal, the conclusion is that the Stavalj mine near Sjenica, which operates within the PE Resavica, produces the highest quality “ecological coal” in the territory of Serbia, Mesko Turkovic, the director of the Stavalj mine, points out in his interview for RINA.

A total of nine mines operate within the public enterprise for coal exploitation Resavica from the eponymous place.

– The mine is in Pester, at an altitude of 1,000 meters, in the Sjenica basin, where 245 million tons of brown coal has been explored and confirmed so far. This is the biggest source of brown coal outside the territory of Kosovo and Metohija – notes Turkovic.

He explains why this coal is considered ecological and says that it is far above the quality of the lignite mined in Kosovo, Kolubara, or Kostolac.

– What makes it ecological is the low percentage of sulfur, 0.1%, and some 8-11% of ash. Taking into account the fact that the mine in Pljevlja exploits coal with close to 30% ash and 2% sulfur content, it is safe to say that what we have here is an ecological fuel – Turkovic says.

As for the staff, there are currently 420 employees, which, according to him, is not enough. He says that there’s a constant lack of workforce and that the job contest is constantly open.

Also, in general, that is where cities in western Serbia – Cacak, Pozega, Priboj, Bajina Basta, Prijepolje, Uzice and others – are heated from.

When asked how, in that area, coal is practically cheaper than wood, he says that the price of wood is EUR 55 per cubic meter, whereas a ton of coal costs RSD 6,262.

– Observed by the energy value, one ton of coal replaces three cubic meters of wood. But the price is set by the Government of Serbia and it has not been changed for eight years – he explains.

The Stavalj mine now has a new management, which is expected to revitalize the operations and head toward a further progress.

– Exactly, we do have a new management and there have been promises of new investments and that, with the expanded capacities, we will have even faster and better operations, which we don’t doubt – emphasized RINA’s interviewee.

The mines in the Resavica system have been deteriorating in a major way in the past ten years, and the new management, led by Sasa Spasic, is working rapidly on improving the miners’ standards and all other aspects of the operations and work conditions, as reported by Glas Zapadne Srbije.

JP PEU Resavica

Štavalj mine

Pešter

Mesko Turković

Saša Spasić

coal

ecological coal

sulfur

ash

price

heating fuel wood