Aspects of surface and environment protection in German mining areas

Hard coal mining in the German Ruhr district has a tradition of more than 200 years. Starting in the south near the river Ruhr with mining of seams near to the surface, mining wandered to the north with coal seams deeper and deeper. In the same way all environmental effects of mining wandered from south to north, as there are abandoned mining sites, contaminated areas, burning mining dumps, subsided areas and gas accesses at day ground. This all happened in a very high populated area with more than four million inhabitants. Therefore Germany has a long tradition in solving environmental problems of mining activities. The very good interaction of mine authority, mining companies and the mine workers' union is the main reason why the problems of decreasing mining activities in Germany were solved without economic, environmental or social hazards.