Pécs’s lake is being filled in – the second phase of the Karolina mine’s reclamation continues

On the northern outskirts of Pécs, the site of the former Karolina mine awaits its fate. Open-cast coal mining took place here for 36 years (from 1968 to 2004); there was a period when more than 400,000 tonnes of coal were extracted annually. This resulted in an 80-metre-deep mine pit, and the rainwater that collected at its base formed a 28-metre-deep lake.

On this former mining site, covering almost 300 hectares and abandoned for more than twenty years, the only visible trace of the former industrial activity is a scar on the landscape. Work to restore the site began in March 2018, and now, with the second phase, the site can be restored with the EWC Rekultivációs Kft. contract. A budget of approximately 600 million forints is available, and the company’s net tender price was 519 million forints.

They can move 405,000 cubic metres of waste rock and soil

During the contract period from 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2027, the company is responsible for the extraction, loading and transport of a total of 405,000 m³ of waste rock and soil from the mine’s waste tip to the open-cast pit and to the permanently reclaimed surface area.

The tasks for the second phase include breaking down oversized rock blocks into transportable sizes, placing the previously extracted waste rock into the mine pit – and, in parallel with this, continuously pumping out the water from the mine lake that has formed at the bottom of the pit.

As the mine site has been overrun by invasive vegetation (mainly black locust), EWC staff are tasked with felling trees across an area of 1 hectare and transporting the timber away. Native woody plants will be planted in place of the felled trees.