Mine Waters from Ore and Coal Mining in Czech Republic

Mine waters are quantitatively one of the most important products of mining activities and their negative impact on the environment may be extensive, even long aft er closing the deposit. The most important producers of mine waters in the Czech Republic are companies mining brown coal (Czech Coal a.s., Severoceske doly a.s. a Sokolovska uhelna, pravni nastupce, a.s.) and black coal (OKD a.s.). Furthermore, mine waters are also generated in connection with mining of uranium ore (deposit Rozna) and a great amount comes from already abandoned ore and coal deposits under the control of the state enterprise DIAMO. Depending on the character of mine waters, treatment is required before their discharge into the surface waters. The paper also describes standard treatment technologies and other options of mine water desalination. In addition, the position of mine waters with regard to legislation is briefly summarized.