Jiu Valley coal mining

Jiu Valley coal mining

One of the last surviving bastions of the Romanian mining industry is stretching along the Jiu Valley in the middle of the Southern Carpathian Mountains.

The mining was commenced here in 1840 by Karol Madersbach with his brother Hoffmann. However there were only several surface stopes in the very beginning without a major significance. The first excavation of shafts started up 8 years later, when already experienced czech, polish and german miners were hired to expolit the underground deposits
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Mines were privately owned until the Second World War. After nationalization the Soviet-Romanian mining company "SovRom" was established within the post-war compensations.

With the growth of steel production in nearby towns Hunedoara, Călan and Reşiţa new deposits were opened. By the 1979 the mines were employing over 179,000 miners.

There were still 15 active mines in 1990, but outdated technology, poor conditions and strict EU limits shuts down most of them.
But the miners from Carpathians hills, but do not give up don´t give up and thanks to the strong support of unions are still around.

Nevertheless a definite decline of mining activities in this area is inevitable. Mining company "Compania Nationala and Huilei Petrosani SA", which currently owns all locations, has license to 2024 only.

Keywords: jiu valley, rumunsko, romania, hornictvi, uhelny dul, coal mining, colliery, prumyslova krajina, industrial landscape, schachtanlage, industriekultur fotografie, abandoned, decay, bergbau, Hunedoara, 2012

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