To achieve the objectives set, a consortium of 6 partners (CERTH, KOMAG, PV, BRGM, GIG and DMT-THGA) from 5 European Countries (Fig.1) was assembled with specialised background in heritage and coal mine transition. Below the following figure there is a short description regarding each of the Partners involved in the CoalHeritage Project.
CERTH (Coordinator and Lead Beneficiary for WP1 & WP4): The Centre for Research and Technology Hellas is the largest research centre in Northern Greece and was founded in March 2000. CERTH is a non-profit organization that reports directly to the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT), of the Greek Ministry of Development. The mission of CERTH is to carry out fundamental and applied research with emphasis on development of novel products and services of industrial, economic and social importance in the fields of Chemical and Biochemical Processes and Advanced Functional Material, Environmental Friendly Technologies for Solid Fuels and Alternative Energy Sources, etc. CERTH has participated successfully in more than 1.000 competitive research projects financed by the European Union (EU), leading worldwide industries and the Greek Government via the GSRT. The Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute (CPERI) operates at CERTH and is the main Greek organization for the promotion of research and technological development aiming at the improved and integrated exploitation of all types of fuels and their by-products. CERTH has been involved in research projects implementing innovative geospatial analyses and workflows in terms of GIS technologies and 2D/3D models.
KOMAG (Partner and Lead Beneficiary for WP3): Institute of Mining Technology is the research and development centre of organizational and proprietary structure adapted to the market activity in the European Research Area and of the organizational culture. KOMAG’s scope of activities includes research and development projects in the domain of mineral mining and processing as well as environmental protection, air and ground surface protection, waste management as well as adaptation of the research results for a practical implementation and dissemination to other natural and technical sciences. KOMAG has 66 years of experience in mechanization of mining operations in Poland. KOMAG specializes in designing, analysis and construction of mechanical equipment for the mining industry. It has achieved national and international success in this area, mainly by collaboration with manufacturers of machines and equipment for the mining industry and has very good relations with the mining companies.
PV (Partner and Lead Beneficiary for WP5) Premogovnik Valenje, d.o.o (the Velenje Coal Mine, Slovenia) is a technologically advanced company with lignite mining as its primary activity. With an almost 150-year tradition in lignite mining, it is firmly rooted in the Slovenian energy economics. The company operates in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, in accordance with the quality management system, the environmental management system and the occupational health and safety system. Today, together with affiliated companies, it employs 2000 qualified staff. PV is also a research organization and is working very closely with various universities and research institutions. Company has participated in a number of EU funded research projects. In the industrial environment of the Šaleška valley, on reclamation areas, company create grounds for the implementation of various activities, including tourist ones. In 1957, the Museum of Slovene Mines was founded under the patronage of the Cultural Centre Ivan Napotnik Velenje and was housed in Velenje castle. At the end of 1999, the museum was relocated and upgraded with underground part in the Škale pit. At the moment it is foreseen that date of coal mine closure will be at the latest in 2033 where in any case a lot of mining infrastructure and assets will be available for future projects. This includes also execution of company mission towards promotion and extension of existing mining museum activities in terms of preserving rich cultural heritage, which is the past, the present and also the future.
BRGM (Partner): Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières is the French Geological Survey, the France’s leading public institution for Earth Science applications for the management of surface and sub-surface resources with a view to sustainable development. BRGM’s activities are organised around scientific research, support to public policy development, international cooperation and mine safety. BRGM has many skills in the field of mineral resources and the management of post-mining activities. In addition, BRGM participates at national and international level in the conservation of geological heritage and its recognition by a wide public. In the field of post-mining, BRGM has been entrusted with work to make former mining sites safe, monitoring mining site structures and managing the post-mining information system. These skills contribute to a good knowledge of the installations and mining sites and make it possible to identify their potential industrial heritage value. At the EU level, the BRGM has been involved for many years in research programs, support to public policy development and international cooperation. BRGM has participated in more than 110 co-funded EU projects addressing many society challenges covering all geosciences fields.
GIG (Partner and Lead Beneficiary for WP2): National Research Institute is one of the major Polish research institutions, subordinates to the Minister of State Assets and a research institute of the A category. Since 1925, the Institute has been associated with the mining industry and the region of Upper Silesia. The mission of GIG is to conduct scientific research as well as implementation and service activities aimed at shaping beneficial man – industry – environment relationships. Human subjectivity is a priority in these activities. The activities of the Institute cover the most important aspects of mining and geoengineering, industrial workplace safety, and environmental engineering, in particular, environmental protection against the effects of industrial activities. As a result of GIG work, organisational and technical solutions to minimise hazards and to increase the improvement of safety at work in the industry are implemented. An important part of GIG is the “Barbara” Experimental Mine in Mikołów, where gas explosions and dusts in real conditions are tested. GIG maintains extensive contacts with foreign enterprises and institutions as part of scientific and technical cooperation, joint research projects and the export of services and equipment, implements projects under the European Union Framework Programs, the European Coal Call and Steel Community Program and many others. GIG analysis and reports correspond with the aim of the project to describe the current state of the mining heritage in the EU and worldwide and to define the concept of cultural and industrial heritage. It will build the awareness of the stakeholders and prepare them to understand the input of mining sites into global heritage in the perspective of the process of transformation. Best practices will present successful histories of the transformation of coal mining areas and sites into industrial heritage sites.
DMT-THGA (Partner): The Technische Hochschule Goerg Agricola University is part of the DMT LB GmbH – a non-profit organization for education and culture – and was founded in 1816 as a school of mining. Since then, it focuses on the education and training of mine workers and mine managers. In 2015, the Research Center of Post-Mining was established. Research is carried out in 4 areas: (1) “Mine water management”; (2) “Geomonitoring in Post-Mining”; (3) “Material sciences for industrial heritage” and (4) “Reactivation and Transition”. Research projects are focused on coal mine water rebound processes, underground water monitoring systems, separation of contaminants from mine water as well as satellite and remote monitoring of abandoned coal mine sites and on the development of risk assessment systems. In the research area “Geomonitoring in Post-Mining”, DMT-THGA emphasizes on the development of monitoring and risk management systems in post-mining areas. The activities consist of the integration of satellite-bound technologies, drones and in-situ sensor applications. Currently the research centre is involved in the different RFCS project like POTENTIALS, GreenJOBS and WINTER, all focussing on the just transition of coal mining regions.
