Surface Mining Operations in Garzweiler

The surface mining facilities at Garzweiler stretch west of Grevenbroich in Neuss County all the way to the A44 Autobahn (Aachen-Düsseldorf). Here lignite occurs in three layers with a total thickness of about 40 m on average. The coal is located about 40 to 160 m below the surface. It is used exclusively for power generation in the nearby power plants.

Excavation material used for re-cultivation
At the same time, the Garzweiler surface mining operations move well over 140 million cubic meters of excavation material, i.e. loess, sand and gravel. These materials are used to fill the previously excavated digs in the Garzweiler as well as the formerly used Frechen surface mining digs farther to the south. Some portions of the excavation areas in Frimmersdorf/Garzweiler are already completely re-cultivated. The Garzweiler surface mining operations have resulted in some highly valuable re-cultivated areas as post-mining landscapes: Hohenholzer Graben (Hohenholz Trench), the Lake Kaster Recreational Area, the Königshovener Mulde (Königshoven Basin), the Vollrather Höhe (Vollrath Heights) and the Elsbachtal (Elsbach Valley).

Excavation until 2044
In order to secure the supply of energy, the surface mining operations were moved in early 2006 to the adjacent field of Garzweiler II where - on an area of 48 square kilometers - 1.3 billion tons of lignite coal are found down to a maximum depth of 210 meters. These deposits are scheduled for excavation until the year 2044 and will provide about 40% of the total Rhenish lignite production.  

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