Following the recent occurrence of a fault zone and landslide at the "Potrlica" open pit mine, the Pljevlja Coal Mine (RUP) has successfully completed remediation works and safely extracted two excavators trapped at the location, the company announced.
RUP, as stated, immediately after the landslide occurred on October 24, acted in accordance with all prescribed measures and orders of the mining inspector. Works at the mine were temporarily suspended to implement safety procedures and geological surveys, while expert services worked on stabilizing the terrain.
"The rehabilitation of the area created the conditions for the safe removal of the excavator, whose value amounts to several million euros. There were no injuries to workers or damage to machinery," the statement said.
After all procedures were followed and additional research was conducted, coal production in the eastern and northeastern parts of the "Potrlica" mine deposit resumed. This also enabled the resumption of coal deliveries for retail and wholesale, which had been temporarily interrupted during the shutdown.
RUP's Executive Director, Nemanja Laković, said that the company operates in accordance with the principles of safety, responsibility and transparency.
"The Company's business principle is primarily based on the responsible and safe work of its employees, as well as transparent reporting on all crisis situations such as this one. Despite the fact that all work within the mine was in accordance with the mining project and defined legal and internal procedures, management has repeatedly hinted at the possibility of such a scenario in recent years, primarily due to the multi-year delay in the implementation of the project to relocate the Ćehotina river bed, so the way of working in the aforementioned conditions also represented the possible occurrence of such landslides. I would like to express my gratitude for the dedicated work of the RUP expert teams, as well as the quick response of the competent institutions, because we managed to safely extract the excavators, whose value amounts to several million euros, and thus return operations in that area to regular mode," said Laković.
He added that the completion of the project to relocate the Ćehotina riverbed will enable safe and uninterrupted work at the entire "Potrlica" mine, which will also ensure a stable supply to the "Pljevlja" Thermal Power Plant after the completion of the ecological reconstruction.
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