Production of waste rock and waste dumps

Initially, waste dumps were stored near adit mouths and shallow shafts, which is apparent until this day at the Landek hill as a reminder of mining in the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. The typically conical waste dumps are connected to deep mining in the Ostrava region since mid-19th century. Their high shape reflects the intent of their operators so that they cover as small area as possible.

Due to the high share of coal and the possibility of aeration the conditions for spontaneous combustion were created in waste dumps. Burning waste dumps had a huge impact on the environmental pollution in the whole industrial region and their removal is a very demanding and lengthy process.

Since the 50’s instead of high waste dumps flat, table-like or staggered burrows were formed, already with the intention to create conditions for their further return to nature or other alternative utilization.

Until this day, old waste dumps are a distinctive landscape feature of the Ostrava region:

• area: 5.5 square km
• waste rock quantity: 226 mil. t

With the reduction of mining in the 90’s the volume of stored waste rock decreased significantly. Currently, waste rock can be utilized as a construction material for earth formations of communications, material for land shaping, including sanitation and reclamation.

A part of the burrows and waste dumps started to green in a natural way (the so-called succession). However, if necessary, controlled reclamation is carried out on them. Thus, together with water bodies formed due to subsidences after mining a new landscape with high biological value is being formed. In these days most burrows in the Ostrava part have been incorporated into the landscape.