The Karviná Mine

Karviná Mine is a result of merger of ČSA Mine and Lazy Mine on 1 April 2008. Its head office is located 25 kilometers north – east of Ostrava.

The organizational structure of Karviná Mine includes 2 mining business units:  the Lazy, Orlová-Lazy Business Unit and the ČSA, Karviná-Doly Business Unit.

The ČSA Business Unit  is located in two mining areas: MA Karviná Doly I and MA Doubrava u Orlové.

The Lazy Business Unit is in the south-west part of Karviná coal basin. Mining area (Dobývací prostor) of the Lazy Business Unit is in the cadastral territory of Orlová and Karviná municipalities.

Důl Karviná

ul. Čs. armády č. p. 1

735 06  Karviná-Doly

Tel.(switchboard):        + 420 596 351 111
Tel. (secretariate):        + 420 596 352 030
Facsimile:                    + 420 596 318 118
E-mail:                         dul.karvina@okd.cz

Karviná Mine in numbers

Depth

In ČSA Business Unit upcast shaft Doubrava III in site Doubrava is of the biggest absolute depth - 1176 m. Its collar is 281m above sea level of  and the shaft goes as deep as 895 m under the sea level.

In Lazy Business Unit mining takes place in average 852 m under surface. The deepest works are located 970 m under surface.

Mining and extraction technology

ČSA Business Unit:  During preparatory works in seams predominantly heading machines are used. For cross-cut levels and ripping of country rock wagon drills with loaders are used. The fundamental mining method is lateral longwall caving method. Coal is extracted from coal faces equipped with sliding supports and longwall machines.

Lazy Business Unit: Depending on mining and geological conditions either cutter loaders are used or haeding complexes. Currently the Lazy Business Unit works in saddle seams of the Karvina group of beds, i.e. in seams as thick as 6 meters, and in Poruba strata of Ostrava group of beds with seam thickness of 0.9 m. Seams with thickness of up to 6 m started to be extracted for the first time in Lazy Business Unit in 1993 using a piece of equipment delivered by the French company CdF.

Coal is extracted from coal faces equipped with support equipment and longwall machines in thick seams, as well as in one coal face in a low seam with separate hydraulic support and a plough machine. The revamped ARA-type ventillators, that rank among the most up-to-date equipment in the Lazy Business Unit, are equipped with drive units with continuous revolution control that is enabled thanks to the use of  ASI Robicon frequency switches.

History

ČSA Business Unit: The Československá armáda mine (Czech Army Mine) was formed on July 1, 1995 as a merging of the two previously separate mines of ČSA and Doubrava. In fact, its history is much older and reaches as far as the very beginnings of coal mining in the Karviná region. It was probably here where the first reports of hard coal discoveries at the Kamienčok site originated in the 18th century. In 1780 mining work was commenced here by count J. E. Larisch-Monnich. In 1856 the local shafts were grouped into a sole undertaking, which is considered the beginning of the existence of today's ČSA mine.

The house of Larisch-Mönnich owned these mines until the expropriation in 1945. In 1951 the state-owned undertaking “Velkodůl Čs. armády” was formed and an extensive reconstruction was carried out.

The is an old history of mining at the Doubrava site as well. Baron Richard Mattencloit was searching for coal here as early as in 1822. The shallow internal shafts gave rise to a mining company in 1836, owned jointly by Mattencloit and Larisch-Mönnich.

Lazy Business Unit: The group mine of Lazy was formed on July 1, 1995, combining the previously separate mines of Lazy, Dukla and František. Following the termination of mining at the František mine, this plant was transferred to the Odra mine in 1999.

Lazy – 1835 is deemed the beginning of its history; at that time the Vienna Rental Company started drilling the Altmaschinenschaft shaft. In 1848 the Friedrich-Egon shaft was established nearby. Another significant shaft was the Neuschacht, established in 1898. After the nationalization mining was reorganized and the shafts were reconstructed. In 1950 the mine was named after Antonín Zápotocký. It was renamed Lazy in 1991.

Dukla – construction was commenced by the Gutmann brothers in 1905; the working was named Kaiser Franz Joseph Schacht after the then monarch. Mining was commenced in 1911. In 1918 the mine was renamed as Suchá, in 1949 as Dukla. In the 50’s and 60’s of the previous century an extensive reconstruction was carried out.

František – established in 1911 by count Heinrich Larisch-Monnich, originally under the name of Erzherzog Franzschacht. Following the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 it was given its current name of František. It was incorporated to the group mine of Lazy on July 1, 1995. In spite of costly opening work, mining was gradually suppressed in the 90’s and eventually the mine was closed down.