10.09.2010 13:38
OKD is the only producer of hard coal in the Czech Republic; Its coal is mined in the southern part of the Upper-Silesian coal basin. more »
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Company code of ethics
The Board of Directors of OKD has adopted a Company code of ethics that is obligatory for all the employees of the firm. It defines basic values and attitudes to enterprise that OKD conforms to in the course of its business activities.
The code of ethics is not any binding rule of law or internal directive, it represents, however, a moral obligation for each employee of OKD.
POP 2010
Fire-damp and methane
Fire-damp has always been a source of terror for miners in coal districts. It is formed from the initial biological matter during geological processes in the course of carbonization. Fire-damp has somewhat different composition than natural gas accompanying oil, therefore it is sometimes called "carboniferous natural gas".
Composition of carboniferous natural gas:
- methane – 92.5 %
- higher hydrocarbons – 2.25 %
- the so-called inerts (mostly nitrogen and carbon dioxide) – 6.3 %
Fire-damp mixed with air presents a highly explosive mixture. In the Ostrava-Karviná district geological circumstances caused a situation where fire-damp could not leak through impermeable overlying layers and remained in the deposit.
However, fire-damp is not only the threat. Methane – its main component – has an outstanding calorific value of 35 MJ/m3.
Miners had to constantly face the presence of fire-damp. This is evidenced by ingenious burners which, owing to metal screens with high-density meshes, did not let the flame into the surrounding environment, thus preventing explosion. The burners also had a warning function: according to the flame’s length the miners could tell the concentration of the dangerous gas. Nowadays the burners are replaced with modern analytical instruments.
